


Five Ticks `Till I`m Yours

by xStormyNightsx



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, Dark, Eventual Smut, F/M, Horror, Kidnapping, Romance, Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2018-08-29 14:45:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 73,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8493922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xStormyNightsx/pseuds/xStormyNightsx
Summary: (A Dark Ticci Toby x Reader)
They were after you. You weren`t sure why, nothing really made sense. Somehow they were convinced you knew something, they wanted answers; answers you didn`t have. After being kidnapped, abused, and interrogated; you were more then ready to give up. That was until he came along, sparking a little bit of hope inside your beaten and tired form. You couldn`t just give up, couldn`t give them that satisfaction. You`d get through this. Alive.
(Rated M for violence, strong language, sexual/suggestive themes)





	1. The Perks of a Hairdryer

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment/kudos if you like :3  
> All feedback appreciated.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don`t own any of these characters, all rights go to their respected owners.

Fear and shock.

Two emotions, both very different but yet they were often found in the same places. It`s not like you particularly paid attention to your emotions, but it was hard not to today. Whirling around, you dove behind a dumpster, not exactly something you were too enthusiastic about. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Fighting back the urge to throw up, you scooted closer to the cold metal, your nose crinkling at the smell.

Everything was still for the next few moments, nothing moved, nothing stirred. The only audible sound was the beating of your heart; fierce and strong as it hammered against your ribcage. Instinctively your hand pressed over your lips, muffling your breathing as you tried to integrate into the quietness. Silently you wished the world would just swallow you up; hide you, if only for a moment. But it didn`t. Nothing happened, and perhaps that would be okay as well. Perhaps everything would be okay.

As if on cue you heard soft footsteps, your peace of mind shattering in an instant. Your body couldn`t help but tense as you prayed the darkness would hide you. Coyly your eyes wandered to the bricked wall a little ahead of you; indicating the end of the alleyway. You were trapped in here. It`s not like you were trying to get cornered, a girl could only run so fast before tiring; even with adrenaline pumping through her veins. Unfortunately for you this was the case. There was no way you could`ve kept running, you needed a break, you needed to hide. You needed _him_ to not notice you.

The footsteps continued now, becoming louder with each passing seconds. To your dismay he was coming into the alley. But why? How did he know you were hiding here? Well… perhaps he didn`t. Of course, he didn`t. There was no way he saw you go in here, there was no way he knew. This was probably a precaution of sorts, he`d simply glance around to be sure then leave. There was no way he`d notice you behind the dumpster; the shadows provided enough cover.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, the sharp whistling of wind replacing the silence.

You closed your eyes, waiting, praying, hoping.

(Earlier that Night)~

You had come home with a bag full of books and papers, your laptop in your arms; pressed against your chest. Sighing, you had opened the front door, placing your items on a table before walking into the washroom without a word. Your towel was where you had left it, hanging on the rack, simply waiting for you. After acknowledging it you preceded to take your clothes off, tossing them aside before you turned on the shower. The hot water felt good against your skin; melting away the stress of the day.

Life sucked.

You felt petty and privileged for thinking like that, but it was true. Your life was so boring, so plain, and so full of work. There was no time for breakfast when you had so much sleep to catch up on, the daily load of university homework and classes had you booked. Not to mention how difficult it was to juggle school with your job. If only your boss wasn`t so strict, if only he`d give you a little more free-time. But then, how would you pay for this place?

It wasn`t always so bad.

It used to be a lot easier a few months ago, back when you lived with your roommate; Claire. She wasn`t exceptionally nice, but the two of you did get along, in all honestly she was kind of funny. Like the big sister you never wanted, but couldn`t help appreciating. She helped you pay rent, even going as far as to help you study. You weren`t childhood friends or anything, instead you had met by chance. She needed a place, you needed a place, and splitting the rent sounded like a good idea at the time.

Too bad she left so abruptly, leaving you nothing but a note? The nerve of some people.

Silently you began working shampoo into your hair before angling your head underneath the showerhead. Your attention turned to the drain as you got the shampoo out, watching the bubbly water trail down your body. It was better to distract yourself with simple things. Far better then pondering all the things you had yet to do. Three essays? A huge reading list? And work first thing tomorrow morning? Damn, now you`re thinking about it.

Shaking the thoughts off, you turned off the shower, pulling away the curtain as you reached for your towel. Quickly you dried yourself off, wrapping the towel around your body before stepping out. You couldn`t help but shiver as your skin came in contact with the cold. It was autumn, and the heating was far too expensive. You rather save your money to pay for it during the winter. For now you`d just have to endure.

Easily you pulled open the door, slipping down the hallway and into your bedroom to find some clothes. Your bedroom was pretty simple; a small bed, desk, and dresser. Most of your things were littered onto your desk, the rest of your belongings were packed into the dresser. Speaking of said belongings, you crouched down in front of the dresser; pulling open a drawer before rummaging around for clothes. You weren`t really picky at the moment, plucking out a pair of undergarments on random before slipping them on. You moved your attention to another drawer as you reached for a plain sweater. The wool material felt nice, providing some much needed warmth.

Deciding it would go well with a pair of track pants, you began searching for some, when suddenly your heard a sound. Immediately you froze. It wasn`t just any sound, not like the creaking of wood, or wind against a window. Instead it was very distinct, very vocal, very human.

You couldn`t help the gasp that escaped your lips as you turned around, your emotions flickering between shock and fear. There, leaning against an opposing wall was a man. If you could even call him that. His face was mutilated and destroyed, his skin sickeningly white, his eyes large and frantic, his smile... oh god his smile. You weren`t sure what terrified you more. His appearance, or the fact that he was holding a knife. A freaking knife!

“Done ignoring me?” his voice was dark and raspy, almost gratingly so. Suddenly you felt sick, this creep had just seen you naked, he watched you change. Instinctively you pulled the hem of your sweater down, trying to cover up as much of your naked legs as you could. His grin only grew wider, making you cringe as you began searching the room, wondering where your phone was. Then you realized something. Your phone, along with the rest of your belongings were still on the table outside. Perhaps that wouldn`t have been an issue if the man wasn`t blocking your path to the door.

“Who are you?” your voice was surprisingly bold, not at all reflecting the fear you felt.

“The names Jeff.” He replied, moving away from the wall as he took a step closer to you, “And you?”

“Y/N. How`d you get in here?”

“Front door.”

“Why are y-“

“Do you ever shut up?” he cut you off, now standing a few inches away from you.

“I-“ he slapped you. Hard.

Your vision blurred for a second as you were literally thrown to the ground, the force of his hand incredibly strong. Gasping for air you tried to sit up, you hand coming to caress the stinging in your cheek. Biting back the urge to cry, you glared up at him. He only chuckled at your shocked look, taking no time to suddenly pounce on you. This time you screamed as he grabbed your wrists, pinning them down with one hand, while his other hand pressed his knife against your stomach. The feeling of cold metal so close to your skin made you quiet. The intent in his eyes told you he would easily kill you if you didn’t comply.

“That`s better.” He practically growled, taking in the sight of you before trailing his knife up your stomach and to your throat. “It`s been a while since I`ve had such a pretty victim.” You couldn`t help but turn your head away as he leaned in close; his hot breath fanning across your face. Being so close to him, you now realized how monstrous his face truly was. His eyelids were gone, the texture of his skin leather-like. The skin around his lips was scarred and jagged, mutilated into a horrible Glasgow smile. What in the world had happened to this man?

“Like what you see?” he caught onto your staring, “Aren`t I beautiful?’

Before you could tell the bastard exactly what you thought of him, there was a noise. A loud, crashing noise; as if someone had pushed something over.

“Someone`s getting frustrated.” Jeff chuckled, glancing at the door before turning to you; his eyes lighting up. “You know what? I bet you`d look much better with a brand new smile. A perfect, permanent smile.” As if to emphasize his point he licked his lips, relishing in your horror. You couldn`t help but squirm and thrash as he brought his knife to your lips, digging it into your mouth before attempting to tear through your cheeks.

In one final, adrenaline-filled attempt to save yourself from a whole lot of pain, you threw your entire body upward. Somehow you managed to push him off, giving you enough time to scramble onto your feet. The first thing he did was reach for his knife, but instinctively you dashed for it first; plucking it off the ground and pointing it at him. He only stared at you furiously, his features noticeably darkening. If you weren`t holding the knife right now; you would most certainly be terrified.

“Why you little bitch.” He sounded beyond angry as he glared at you with those insane eyes, silently promising you hell.

“Back up.” You ordered, gesturing with the knife as you tried to get him to move away; he was still too close to the door, making escape possible.

Instead of doing as you asked, he took a step closer; completely ignoring your threat. You couldn`t help but step back as he moved closer, soon finding yourself against a wall. Even with the knife in hand you felt helpless. You didn`t have the will to stab him; to take his life. Despite what he tried to do to you, there was no way you could kill him. You weren`t a murderer.

“I don`t want to hurt you.” You admitted, “Just let me leave.”

“You think you can fucking hurt me? **Me**?!” he laughed, his tone laced with insanity, “Oh darling, I`m going to have _fun_ with you.”

You were now understanding your situation. This man was insane and he didn`t care if you had a knife; he was going to hurt you regardless. Your will to live preceded your fear and in a blur you reached for the hairdryer that was lying on your dresser; throwing it straight at his head. He managed to dodge it, but not before you flung a perfume bottle at him; this one nailing him in the face. He growled, his hand covering his face and giving you enough time to slip past him. Quickly you tore open the door, completely ignoring your phone as you turned to the front door. Your fingers were on the lock at an instant; every bit of your being hell-bent on escape.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

You faintly glanced behind yourself, noticing another man standing in your living room. This one looked almost as odd as Jeff; his eyes hidden behind a pair of worn googles. His presence explained the noises from earlier as you noticed the state of your living room; furniture had been flung over while most of your belongings littered the floor. As soon as you heard the lock click, you threw the door open, noticing the mans expression darken as you shot out the door. Instantly you ran down the hall, trying to reach the stairwell at the end. There was no time to wait for elevators considering the stranger was right behind you. You risked a quick glance behind yourself as you pulled open the stairwells door. The man was holding a pair of axes as he gained behind you. God, who were these people?!

Somehow you managed not to trip as you leapt over stair sets, trying to put as much distance between the strangers and yourself. You barely acknowledged the cold autumn air against your naked legs as you ran out through the buildings back exit. Your neighbourhood was a quiet one, few people lived here, and most would stay off the streets at night. So, the likeliness of finding someone to help you was low. Heck there was a larger chance of you running into a gang member or drug dealer instead.

You kept on running for god knows how long before you began to feel tired. Your legs burned and ached, forcing you to slow down as you glanced around for help. The streets were absolutely desolate, not a single person in sight. Hesitantly your eyes fell on an alley, before you glanced back at the streets behind you. He`d be catching up at any second.

Biting back your dread, you ran into the alley.

(Currently)~

“Th-there you are.”

You practically sobbed as you opened your eyes, your gaze landing on the axe-wielding stranger. He was crouching in front of you now, his face inches away, his axes raised by his sides. How he got so close without you noticing, you would never know.

 


	2. The Downsides of Not Knowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things hopefully get a little interesting now. And as always, feedback appreciated.  
> Disclaimer: I don`t own any of these characters, all rights go to their respected owners.

Your eyes opened slowly, the tiredness in them still evident as you blinked a few times. The first thing you recognized was the dull light of a single lamp that sat in the corner. Slowly, you made an attempt to move, noticing only then the chains that connected your hands to a hook in the wall. Speaking of the wall, it was filthy. There were dark stains scattered all over it, a strange, gooey substance oozed a little away from your head. Recoiling in disgust, you scooted away from it, regretting it as soon as you felt something wet underneath you.

Slowly your senses began to adjust, and you couldn`t help but gag as an awful smell made itself known. You felt like puking, it was worse then anything you could imagine, rotting, decaying, disgusting.

“Awake at last.”

The memories that came with that raspy voice sent a shiver down your spine.

You turned your head away as Jeff squatted down in front of you, the faint light of the lamp illuminated his features in the worst way. For a second he was silent, simply staring before inhaling sharply. Forcefully his fingers dug into your jaw as he lifted it up, forcing you to stare into his eyes.

“Remember me?” his voice was low, dangerously so.

You swallowed your fear, breathing shakily before searching around the room, trying to figure out a plan of sorts. You had to do something, anything to get away. There were so many questions whirling around your head. Where were you? Who was he? What did he want? Not knowing if you`d get a better opportunity, you decided to take a risk.

“Where-“ in a flash your head swung around, pain spreading through your face as you gasped. Did he just slap you again? Bastard.

“Did I say you could fucking talk?” he sneered.

Your situation began to become clear now. You were at the mercy of this psychopath, it didn`t matter what he wanted; it couldn`t be anything good. If one word was enough to provoke his temper, then there was no way you would get out of this unscathed. That is if you even got out of it. No, don`t think like that. Of course, you`ll get out of this, whatever _this_ was. You weren`t going to abandon hope, not now, not ever.  By tomorrow this should be nothing but a memory. By next year this should be nothing but a story. That`s right, a simple, silly story to tell your friends.

“I`m going to ask you a few questions.” You shivered as you felt something cold press against your lower stomach. Hesitantly you glanced down to see him holding his knife against the thin layer of fabric that covered your stomach. It was that same knife from before, he had gotten it back. The simple sight of it was enough to make you shrink back in fear. “And you`ll give me honest answers.” You couldn`t help but squirm a little as he pressed the blade in deeper, tearing through the fabric. You could now feel the metal on your skin, the sensation filling your body with dread. “And if you lie, you`re going to fucking wish I had killed you before.” his free hand came to grip your waist, holding you still. “ _Understand?_ ”

You nodded.

“That`s a good girl.” His attention went from your face to his knife, “So, where`s Claire?”

Claire? Your roommate? Why were they looking for her? Quickly you tried to recall everything you could about her, anything that could link her to these psychos. Unfortunately nothing came to mind, Claire was as normal as normal could be. She had moved out two months ago, leaving you a rather cryptic note about business issues. All of her stuff was gone, it almost seemed as if she never existed. When you texted or called, she wouldn`t answer, and eventually you had given up. If she wanted to be left alone, then who were you to care?

“Fucking answer me.” In a matter of seconds the man`s patience disappeared into nothing, his fingers tangling into your hair as he slammed your head into the wall with enough strength to leave a dent. In both the wall and your head.

“She was my roommate!” you gasped at the throbbing in your head.

“No shit. Where is she?”

The pain in your head was nothing compared to the pure agony you felt as he harshly pulled his knife away from your stomach, only to growl as he dug it into your thigh. Screaming you jolted up, worsening the pain as you tried to get a handle on your senses, as you tried so desperately to bare it.

“I-I don`t know!” you practically cried the words out, your eyes widening at the sight of the blade in your thigh. Your blood was gushing all around it, dark and thick as it trickled down your skin. The gash seemed huge, you could practically see your torn muscles.

“What did I say about lying?” he growled, pushing the knife further until it went through the wooden floor; nailing you down. “Do you think I`m fucking stupid? That bitch tried the same tactic, thinking she could fool me. Listen closely _princess_ , it didn`t work out for her, and it sure in hell ain`t gonna work out for you.”

Was he talking about Claire? Oh god was she here too, had this monster hurt her?

“I swear I don`t know.” You insisted, your voice a feign whisper.  

He only glared at you, twisting the knife inside your flesh and forcing another scream out of you. He didn`t believe you. It was as simple as that, he thought you knew something you didn`t, and he was going to kill you to get what he wanted. Why was this happening to you? What had you done to deserve any of this? You were a nice person, you tried your best to be good, to be civil. Sure, you act out sometimes, but everyone does. You remembered what Claire used to say, insisting that the hardships of life were god’s tests. She was quite religious, not that you minded. For a moment you wondered if she was right, if this was some sick, twisted test.

 “Jeff.”

 The madman before you tensed, sighing loudly before standing up, pushing his knife into his hoodies pocket.

“She`s fine…” he sneered, his attention no longer on you, but at the newcomer. Hesitantly you opened your eyes to see an approaching figure, followed by the noise of a door closing. A door? So there was an exit, that`s comforting.

You heard soft footsteps before the figure stepped into the lamp light. You recognized him as the man in your living room, the one with the axes... Nervously you glanced at him, meeting his eyes before he turned away with a slight twitch. While the two of them had their hushed conversation you slowly began to feel the pain in your leg intensifying. Slowly your eyes wandered to the gushing wound in your thigh. You could barely recognize the limb; most of the skin hidden behind dark layers of blood.

Wincing you tried to sit up, immediately regretting it as the pain doubled.

“D-don`t move.” The goggled man was suddenly beside you. How he moved so fast without you noticing; you still weren`t sure. With another twitch, he crouched down, pressing his hand over the wound. You couldn`t help but squeak in pain, jumping up slightly as he applied a little more pressure. Was it his turn to torture you now?

Cautiously you watched him, not entirely sure how to defend yourself. He backed up slightly, grabbing at his sleeve before tearing it off harshly. He then turned to you, giving you another look before turning to your wound with a twitch. You weakly tugged on your chains, not entirely sure what new form of torture awaited you. He lifted your leg up, wrapping the sleeve around it before tying it extremely tightly.

 “She`s n-no good to us dead J-Jeff.” This time his stuttering was more noticeable.

“She isn`t dead, now is she?” he grumbled, glaring at you with irritation before digging his hands into his pockets, “Fuck this, I`ll be upstairs.” He began to leave, heavy boots trudging against the floor when he stopped, scoffing “But don`t you dare think I`m done with you.”

You only stared at the floor as the footsteps continued, not moving until you heard the door close. Now you turned your head to the newcomer. For a moment he stared at you, before backing up to push his goggles up into his hair. You now met his eyes, the colour of them brown, much like his tousled hair. The rest of him was still fairly covered, a face-mask of sorts was wrapped around his mouth, giving way to the rest of his strange attire. Even though you couldn`t see much of him; you decided he didn`t look too bad. Heck, compared to Jeff he was a supermodel. Anything beats that smile. You shuddered.

“Where am I?” you now noticed how dry your voice was, but what did you expect after screaming so much? “Is this some sort of sick torture chamber?”

“Th-this is actually the waiting room. Torture chambers across the hall.”

Was that a joke?

 “Who are you?” you asked a little more cautiously, at least he didn`t hit you.

“You have other th-things to worry about.” He twitched yet again, this time the humorous tone gave way to something darker.

You stiffened as he leaned over you, grabbing your chained wrists with one hand. You couldn`t see what he was doing, but you heard soft, metallic clinking, and then suddenly the chains released you. With wide eyes, you pulled your hands in front of you, tenderly rubbing your wrists. They, much like the rest of you, felt sore.  Without realizing it you looked up at the man, smiling gratefully.

“Thank you.” You muttered, wanting to say more before he suddenly grabbed one of your hands, holding it up against the wall.

“Don`t mi-misunderstand.” You watched his other hand go down towards his belt, and with horror you saw his axes hanging off the belt loops. Smoothly he lifted one up, spreading your fingers with his hand before pressing the blade of his axe to your pinky finger. You couldn`t even breathe as you stared at him. “I w-won`t kill you, but I`ll do things far worse to get you to ta-talk.”

“I don`t know where Claire is!” You practically cried out, “I swear, I`m not lying.”

He examined you carefully, before raising his axe into the air.

“Wa-wait! Stop!” you were screaming yet again, squirming desperately to get away as he brought the axe down. You couldn`t bare to watch, your eyes shutting tightly as you waited for the pain to hit you. Seconds passed before you risked a peak, your breath shallowing at the sight of his axe hovering against your skin. Your eyes flickered from the weapon to his expression; trying to understand what he was thinking. Did he believe you? Was he just playing with you?

Suddenly his whole body twitched, and you yelped as the axe dug into your finger. It was a stinging, metallic pain; not nearly as intense as the gash in your thigh. At least the finger wasn`t completely cut off, it was more like a little scratch; like a little accident.

“ _Woops_.” He barely whispered the word, his tone more amused then apologetic.

“Please…” you hated this, begging for mercy, it was degrading. But what choice did you have? You couldn`t escape, you couldn`t negotiate, all you could truly do was plead. “Let me go.”

“Y-you need to give me a re-rea-reason to.” He spoke softly, “I`m not a torture guy… I can make it hu-hurt like hell, but that`s if I can k-k-kill `em. Chopping people up into little bits, arms first, th-then legs, then slashes through the torso. Th-the-they usually last a few minutes.”

You could barely hide your disgust. This man was demented, completely and utterly sick.

“But ke-keeping them alive? That`s difficult.” He continued, “Jeff and I, we aren`t really g-good at the torture thing. But we know people who are. If you d-d-don`t give us answers, then getting chopped up will sound like a dream co-compared to what they`ll do to you.”

“I really don`t know where she is…” you muttered, hoping that maybe this time he`d believing you, “She was my roommate, sh-she worked at a Starbucks, and went to the same university as me… she left one day, her stuff was all gone, she left a note on the fridge, said she had business to attend. I… I never got in touch with her after that. I don`t know where she went…”

He sighed, before mumbling a simple: “Okay.”

What did that mean? Did he believe you? Would he let you go now, would this nightmare finally come to an end? You parted your lips to speak again when a sharp sensation filled you. Every inch of your being felt as if it had been set on fire, and with sheer shock you turned your head to see his axe buried into your finger; the blade touching the other side of the wall. You only stared, unable to scream, unable to breathe. Your body and mind were both struggling to grasp what had happened; to accept what he had just done.

 


	3. More Then Human

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well ain`t Toby a meanie >:c  
> Disclaimer: I don`t own any of these characters, all rights go to their respected owners.

It had taken an hour of silent sobbing before you found the will to stand up. Unfortunately, you just fell back to the ground, the gash in your thigh making it impossible to move your legs without feeling like you were on fire. Gasping for air, you tried to crawl, your mind and body deadest on escaping.

The man with the goggles had left a while ago, not saying anything as he pulled his axe out; leaving you too horrified to react. Even now you couldn`t bare to look at your hand. You had expected one of them to come back soon; to continue questioning and tormenting you. At first you were willing to wait for them; all thoughts of escape severed. Just like your finger. You cringed at the thought, continuing to drag your legs along until you stumbled to the door.

But after waiting for a while, you decided you couldn`t give up. You wanted to live. You were going to live, dammit.

Grasping your good hand around the knob, you tugged desperately. It was locked. A part of you knew it would be locked, those monsters despite how twisted they were- were not stupid. Of course they`d lock the door. Forcing yourself to calm down, you glanced around the room. What were you going to do now? You doubted they`d leave a spare key in the room, and you doubted you had the strength to bust the door down.

As if to worsen the situation, you began to hear footsteps; heavy footsteps.

First you felt fear crawling up your spine, followed by the throbbing pain that plagued your body. You knew it was about to get worse. Much, much worse. Then suddenly it hit you. With a grim frown, you forced yourself onto your feet again, clenching your teeth to keep from yelping in pain. You didn`t have time to crawl around, and your determination to escape was far greater then the pain in your thigh. You quickly headed towards the lamp, searching for the plug before yanking it out. The room was consumed by darkness, and following nothing but instinct, you lifted up the lamp, making you way back to the door. You pressed your back into the wall, your hands tightening around the lamp. You felt the flesh of your ruined finger press up against the dusty object, making you wince in bitter pain.

The next sound you heard was that of a key, soft crinkling followed before the door was thrown open; slamming against the opposing wall. You were glad you chose to hide on this side, rather then the other. Having that door slam into your stomach didn`t sound too good. The man, who you recognized as Jeff, quickly took a step into the room. Before he could notice you missing, you quickly you lashed out; slamming the lamp into his head. You heard him groan as he fell with a thud, his hands coming to examined the back of his head.

You were hoping the impact would knock him out, but somehow he was conscious as he tried to sit up. Something primal inside you sparked as you dropped the lamp on his head again, delivering a few swift kicks into his stomach. God, how you hated this man.

Your breathing was ragged by the time you were done; all of your anger condensed into your kicks. It felt good to get a little rage out, to hurt those who were hurting you. What made it a little unsatisfying was the fact that he was still conscious. You watched as he began to get up, the fire in his eyes intensifying. Why wouldn`t he just stay down?

You knew you couldn`t outrun him, not with that gash in your thigh. So instead you looked to the door, noticing the key was still in place. Quickly you moved over his stirring body, getting outside the room before pulling the door closed. You decided to grab the key before turning to scan your surroundings. Hopefully he wasn`t capable of busting down a door either. Your kicks must have at least ensured that, right?

A sinking part of you doubted that. There seemed to be something off about that man, there seemed to be something off about both of them actually. Something wrong. Inhumane. A sharp bang pulled you out of your thoughts, and you quickly turned to see the door shake. He was on his feet already?

“You fucking bitch!” you heard the man yell, shaking you to your core as you took a few steps back, “Open this damn door, now!”

Yeah, no.

Quickly you began to run down the hall, adrenaline finding its way into you body, making the pain in your leg more bearable. The room you were in was at the end of the hall, and by the looks of it there were no other rooms, but instead a wooden stair set. You dashed over the steps, finding yourself in a fairly large room. It wasn`t very fancy, there was a single mattress in one corner, and another door at one end. Your attention though, was on the large wooden door on the other side: the exit. You practically clawed at the handle, your breathing heavy as you tore it open.

Now you realized where you were. A cabin. A damn cabin in the middle of god-knows-where. At least the other man was nowhere in sight, perhaps if you run you could find a road; some form of civilization. Anything beats standing around and waiting for Jeff to come barging out with his knife in hand.

After inhaling as much air as you could, you shot off, forcing your legs to move as you ran into the woods. Adrenaline kept you coordinated, and somehow you managed not to trip on the roots and sticks that littered the uneven ground. You instinctively skirted around trees, using your hands to keep balance. Finally, you began to realize how even the ground was getting, how the foliage was concentrated on the sides. You were on a trail. A trail! That means people came by here, civilization couldn`t be much further.

As an answer to your prayers, you began to see the edges of a road. Brushing past another tree, you found yourself standing at the side of a freeway. You practically cried out as you fell to your knees, a wide grin etching over your features. You made it, you were going to survive. But it wasn`t over yet, you still had to find your way into town. Still, a bit of optimism returned as you began to walk along the road. The adrenaline was slowly fading, forcing you to endure a little more pain as you dragged your battered leg along.

You were limping around for little over ten minutes when you saw a pair of headlights. A sleek, SUV drove by; coming to an abrupt stop by you. You sighed gratefully as a man exited the car; he was dressed in a business-like suit.

“Oh god miss, are you okay?” he was by your side in no time, worry visible in his aged features. You couldn`t form a proper reply, and to your surprise you felt tears well up in your eyes. You realized now how scared you truly were, how terrifying and traumatizing the whole ordeal was. The man slowly helped you into the car, placing you gently in the front seat before heading over to the driver’s side. For a second you were concerned, could you trust this stranger? Hesitantly you glanced around, your body relaxing when you noticed an empty car seat in the back. He had kids, he was a family man, a father.

“What happened to you?” he began to ask as he pulled his seatbelt on, “Were you alone out here?”

“Kidnapped…” your voice was far weaker then you originally had thought, “Please, before they find us.”

He nodded vigorously, his hand going to his phone as he tossed it to you. “Call the cops,” his attention then turned to your ruined hand, “If you can…” He was concerned, truly and honestly concerned for you. That feeling alone made you relax a little as you used your good hand to dial in the numbers. He began to drive as you pulled the phone to your ear, your eyes on the passing trees as you waited.

“911, what`s your emergency?”

You began to explain your entire situation, briefly mentioning the kidnapping and torment before going over your escape and current situation. The lady listened intently before promising to send a squad to find the cabin and arrest the kidnappers. She also sent an ambulance to meet you down the road.

As she hung up, you handed the phone to the man, who quietly took it before turning his attention to the road.

“That sounds awful…” he sighed, his eyes darting to a water bottle that laid on the dashboard, “Are you thirsty?”

You nodded gratefully, carefully picking up the bottle before attempting to open it. Your injured hand made that impossible, and the man paused in his driving to open it for you. The feeling of water rushing down your throat was like heaven. It was cooling, refreshing in the best way. You had never realized how great water was until now.

Exhaling softly, you placed the bottle back, allowing your head to fall back. Slowly you closed your eyes, relaxing completely. The pain you felt become a soft throbbing in the back of your mind, your instincts becoming less alert as you felt your energy slipping. It wasn`t a bad feeling, instead it was an exhausting feeling. Like an urge to go to sleep, to close your eyes and let go for a while. Honestly you welcomed it, the idea of resting sounded so refreshing. You were safe now anyways; a little nap would be good for you.

Not that it mattered, you doubted you could resist the exhaustion that was taking you over.

Your eyes quickly snapped open as you heard a scream, the whole car coming to a harsh stop as you were thrown up. If it wasn`t for the seatbelt, you would surely go flying out the windshield.

“What in the world…” the man beside you gasped, and you felt dread wash over you at the sight of the axe sticking out of his chair; inches away from his head. Before either of you could move, your door was pulled open; two strong hand came to grab the collar of your sweater, pulling you out and tossing you onto the ground. You couldn`t help but cry out as your wounded body hit the hard concrete that made up the road.

No, no, no, no! This couldn`t be happening. You had escaped them, you had gotten away, there was no way they caught up to you. Despite all that, you couldn`t deny the sight of the man in front of you; his body heaving, indicating he had run quite a distance to catch up. His goggles were over his eyes this time, face mask pulled up, giving you no glimpses of his expression. No idea of what he was thinking, of how angry he could be.

You began to climb onto your feet, watching as he reached into the car to grab his axe before turning to you. Your hand ached as you put pressure on it, but regardless you stood up, your body backing up as he stalked forward. His hands twitched as he moved, making him more intimating as the axes ticked in his grip.

“Don`t hurt her!” you felt a mix of emotions as the man from earlier had stepped out of the car, his hand grasped around his phone, “We`ve already called the cops, they`ll be here any second.”

You doubted that threat would be enough to get them to back off. Your stomach wrenched at the thought of the psycho digging his axe into the man. He tried to help you, to save you; and he was going to die for that. A part of you wanted to say something, to catch your tormentor’s attention, to spare that man from a world of pain. But you couldn`t do it. You were terrified, to terrified to speak, to terrified to do anything.

“Fucking hate heroes.” You heard another voice, this one darker, rugged. In a blur of white, the man was on the ground; Jeff crouching over him, his boot pressed against the mans throat. “Assholes thinking they`re all good and sweet, how fucking adorable.” He sneered, his knife flashing before he carried on to dig into the mans back. You couldn`t bare to look, your eyes falling to the ground as you heard his screams and screech’s, followed by gushing, squishy noises.

“I-if you run.” The goggled-man was speaking now, his tone as dangerous as ever as he took slow, calculated steps towards you, “I`m going to take your fu-fucking head off.”

You could only glare at him. These monsters just killed a man for helping you, they were going to kill you too. Why? Why was all this happening to you? The fear you had become so accustomed too began to die down, something fiery replacing it. Anger. You were angry. Angry at these psychos for doing this to you, for hurting someone because of you. For forcing you into this position; making you weak and terrified. Never in your life had you thought that you would stand idly by while someone got hurt.

These killers had turned you into something you weren`t. And you hated them for it. If you were going to die today, you were going to go out like a badass.

“Go to hell.” You hissed at him, your fists clenching tightly.

He paused for a second, as if he was actually surprised by your words. His head tilted ever so slightly before he continued walking, a slight twitch shaking his body before he grabbed you by the throat; pulling you close. Out here, without the smell of that basement plaguing your senses; you were actually able to take in the man in front of you. His scent was odd, he smelled like sandalwood and smoke. Like a fireplace; all cozy and warm without the security. His eyes matched his scent; the shade of brown deep and warm behind his goggles. Unfortunately, his personality contradicted all of that. He was a killer, a monster, a bastard; and you hated him.

“G-ge-getting brave, are we?” his masked face was inches from yours, his height forcing him to lean slightly to make eye-contact. Glaring at him, you drew your good hand back before slamming it into his face with as much power as you could. Damn that felt good.

“It`s like your be-be-begging me to hurt you.” His voice was strangely composed as he touched his jaw, feeling it carefully before straightening up to look at you again. You watched him lift his axe, turning it so that the handle part was facing you. Then in a swift movement he brought it down to your face. You braced yourself for impact, waiting for the inevitable. It struck you like lego brick. Yes a lego brick. As if someone flicked a small little toy at you. It was nothing compared to the truck like force you had expected. Heck, it didn`t even hurt.

“Boop.” He mumbled, tapping your face with it again.

What the actual hell….?

You were about to say something stupid when Jeff grabbed your wounded hand, throwing you onto the ground before slamming his foot onto it. You screamed a horrifying scream. Your vision becoming incredibly blurry as pain drowned out everything else.

“That`s for hitting me with a lamp.” He growled, before lifting his foot. You were trying to adjust to the agony when he pressed his boot into the wound on your thigh. God, he wasn`t going to show you any mercy, was he? Tears began to drip down your face as he kicked your thigh to the side, forcing your legs apart before sitting down in between them. His knee continued to dig into the wound; the pain making it difficult to breathe.

“When I`m done with you,” he dug his knee in deeper, and you felt a new wave of blood gush through the sleeve, “You`re going to wish I could kill you… Let`s start with that fucking smile, hmm?”

“Screw you…” you choked the words out, your anger preceding your fear yet again.

“What a wonderful idea.” he broke into a fit of laughter at your shocked expression, both his hands coming to tighten around your legs, drawing you in closer. The thought of such a thing sickened you. Curse your choice of words!

Desperately you glanced at the other man, he was standing off to the side, axes hanging in hand as he just looked at you. He`d say something right? Stop Jeff, right? Of course he wouldn`t. Both of them were twisted, both of them wanted to hurt you. Jeff was just more straightforward about it.

“Get the hell away!” your tone was laced with pain, sounding weak and frail. Clearly amused by it, Jeff only gave another chuckle, this time his eyes lighting up as slammed his fist into your jaw. You gasped as your head snapped to the side.

“Can you fucking shut up?” he rolled his eyes, before his hand grasped your mouth. His fingers forced your lips apart as he brought his knife closer, “I should cut your tongue out.” You thrashed at the simple idea, trying yet again to fight him, to get away. He frowned at that, his hand releasing you before he struck you once again, harder then the first time.

“J-J-Jeff, we don`t have time for this.” The other man finally intervened. You were beyond thankful at this, perhaps the goggled-stranger wasn`t so bad. “Fuck her after we g-get to the cabin.” And never mind, they`re both horrible.

“You`re killing the mood.” Jeff mumbled.

“G-g-get up.” He shook his head disapprovingly, turning his attention to the woods.

“Look at that, Toby`s a big boy now.” The killer on top of you stood up now, his attention on the other man now, “Must be nice being the big mans pet.”

“ _What was that?_ ”

Oh shit. The way his voice dropped sent alarm bells ringing in your mind. That tone made one thing clear; this man was not to be fucked with.

“Did I stutter?” Jeff mused, toying with his knife.

The other man- Toby was what Jeff had called him- only glared. His eyes visibly narrowing as he lifted his axe. The tension was thick, suffocating. You attempted to back away, to get away as Toby stalked towards Jeff, his entire body twitching. The hooded-killer just smirked, his grin reaching his limits as he waited for the other man to make the first move.

Everything suddenly went still as another noise was heard. Sirens. Police sirens. The call, you had called them, they were coming! You were going to be okay! You breathed out a shaky, exhausted breath.

The two killers watched the road, noticeably surprised as the squad cars approached.

“Lucky bitch.” Jeff looked at you grimly, anger burning behind his eyes before he turned away, dashing into the woods.

Toby on the other hand didn`t move, his gaze darting from you to the now parking squad cars. A police officer quickly leapt out of the car, his gun trained on Toby in no time.

“Put the axe down and get on the ground. Now!” the man ordered.

Toby only watched him, his eyes landing on you one final time before he bolted. The officer shot him in the back, and to your utter shock he carried on running, as if the bullet had no effect. The officer seemed as surprised as you, but rather then giving chase he quickly came to your aid. You heard other cops behind him, a few mumbling to each other, while a group ran the way Toby had.

“It`s okay miss, you`re going to be okay.”

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Why Clowns?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but I had lost interest in this fandom a while back, which is why I haven`t updated in a while. BUT now my love for this fandom has returned, and so I`m more than ready to pump out chapters. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it :3 And also, I`m a complete beggar when it comes to this, but please leave me some feedback.

“More water Miss?”

This was the third time the F.B.I agent asked that question. Then again this was the third time you finished a glass. Since you got into the little, metal bed, your nerves have been on edge, and apparently that resulted in a lot of water consumption. There was one agent, a fairly polite one, that stood beside the hospital bed. His hands were clasped and his smile was soft as he adjusted the recording device on the side-table. A little across the room was the other agent, a stern looking woman with her back to the door. She seemed annoyed and angry, and unfortunately both of those emotions were directed towards you. The other person in the room was the nurse, a timid woman who kept her head down while the officers asked you question after question.

“I know you`ve been through a very traumatic experience.” The male officer began to speak as the nurse refilled your glass. “And I know reliving it is the last thing you want, but what you know can potentially save lives.”

You wanted that, didn`t you? To help people, to save lives if you could. It was basic morals to cooperate with law enforcement, to help them protect this world in any way they could. This was your civic duty, yet thinking back to the events of yesterday was tormenting. The gash in your thigh seemed to burn simply at the thought of that deranged man, plunging his knife wherever he pleased, all the while smiling that awful smile.

You weren`t sure how you were keeping it together, your hands were constantly sweaty and you couldn`t help but constantly glance at the door. Even with that annoyed agent pressed up against it, a part of you expected the door to burst open at any second. A part of you could picture it perfectly. Those horrifying faces, those insane eyes, the sharp glint of their weapons, as they came to finish the job. As they came to finish you off.

“Do you recognize this man?” the male agent opened the file he had in his hands since he first entered the room. He removed an image before holding it up you. It was slightly blurry, and the figure in it seemed to be turning away, one of his eyes barely acknowledging the camera. You recognized him immediately. It was quite hard not to notice the whiteness of his skin, or the darkness around his eyes.

“Jeff.” You whispered, noticing how your voice trembled at the very name. God how you hated him, hated him for making you feel so weak and scared.

“Jeffery Woods.” The man nodded, “Notorious serial killer, number three on our most wanted list. He usually kills his victims right away, he`s never kidnapped before.”

“I guess I`m special.” You mumbled, dry sarcasm lacing your tired voice.

“And this man, do you recognize him too?” the agent now pulled out another image. The man in the image was looking down at the camera, his eyes stern as he looked almost annoyed at the sight of it. His goggles and face-mask gave him away though, and you nodded your head.

“Toby.” You replied, and the agent nodded again.

“Tobias Rogers, yes.” The man began to explain, “He usually kills with this group of his, we don`t see him on his own much. But once again, we`ve never heard of him kidnapping. So, I know this is difficult but do you have any idea why these men wanted you alive?”

You only blinked up at the agent. There was so much to say, so much to tell. They were cruel, unforgiving, they tortured without remorse and asked unanswerable questions. All that pain, all that distress. And what was the point of it all? Some roommate who left you on your ass months ago? Claire. They wanted Claire. You still didn`t know why, but at this moment, you really didn`t care.

“Look, we`re on a tight schedule.” The woman finally spoke, her tone as angry as her expression. “The more time you waste contemplating is more time those killers are at large. For all you know they could have taken more lives. Do you want that on your hands? I get it, you`ve been through hell, and hey, it sucks. But you need to help us prevent that from happening to other. So, fucking cooperate.”

“Danvers!” the male agent hissed at his partner, “Show a little compassion.”

“Shut up and let me do my job.” The woman snapped at her partner before turning to glare at you. “Well?”

You sighed, reminding yourself that this place was safe, that there was no harm in telling them everything.

“I was in my apartment, I don`t know how they got there.” You tried not to think too much into it, but you couldn`t help the images that flashed in your mind. Images of that savage tackling you down, images of your feet slamming against the concrete as you ran down the streets. “I got out, I ran, but they caught me…” then what happened? It was quite blurry really. “I woke up in this… dark, disgusting room.” And then all that torture began. “After that he, the one with the black hair, well he-“

“Jeffery?” the woman clarified, and you weakly nodded.

“He started asking me about my roommate.” You tried to explain, but the woman cut in again.

“Roommate?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Claire, she used to live with me.” Once again you were reminded of just how odd your situation was. “I don`t know why they cared about her, but they asked me where she was. I hadn`t seen her in months, I had no answers to give. And well… they didn`t like that.”

“Thank you, Miss.” The male agent by your bed placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder, his smile warm while his partner turned away with a scoff.

“We need to find that girl before them, come on.” The woman was already out the door as her partner scrambled behind her. The last thing you heard was the man promising to leave a guard before their voices disappeared down the hall.

Sleep did not come easily that night, but then again, why would it? You were awakened every hour or so by nightmares, each more horrifying then it`s predecessor. The common theme in all of them was helplessness. In each one you would be running, sometimes down a street, down a hill, even through thick forests. All the while something would be chasing you. Something vicious.

It was around 5a.m. when you woke up again. This time, something was off though. The dull white walls of the hospitals room were no longer visible, and instead completely replaced by something peculiar. You were in a carnival of sorts, rides and vendors as far as the eye could see. Other then the fact that waking up in a random carnival was odd, the fact that it looked abandoned only made it more offsetting.

You were no longer in a bed, but instead sitting on the gravelly ground beneath. Despite the variety of colours, the carnival seemed rather dull. The horses at the carousel, the empty food stalls, even the balloons and decoration; the colours were all faded.

Carefully you climbed onto your feet, now noticing that the bandages around you leg and severed finger were gone, the wounds completely healed. It was that very sliver of relief that helped you realize the truth.

You were dreaming.

It would have been nice if the all those horrible events never happened, but you knew better than to fall for false hope. So instead you decided to indulge the dream, what other choice was there? As you wandered around the empty carnival, you began to take note of a sound. The only way to describe it would have been “off-key”. The tune was familiar, almost innocent. You weren`t sure what it was but it reminded you of a child`s nursery rhyme, it had that vibe to it.

Curiously you began following the noise, finding yourself entering a large tent. There were empty seats all around, making a spectacle of the center stage. It was also dark, the only light coming from a few dull light bulbs hanging from the tents ceiling. You noticed how most of the bulbs were shattered, their glassy remains littering the floor. Dread settled into your stomach, and instinctively you began to turn away, deciding it best to leave as soon as possible.

That plan was cut short when a small whimper made itself known. You felt yourself frozen in place as you turned ever so slightly to make out a small figure huddled behind a seat. The figure took notice of you immediately and began to shuffle into the light. You watched as it poked it`s head out from behind the seat, most of its body still hidden as it blinked at you.

It was a kid, no older then 7 years.

His eyes were bright and blue, and his hair looked as if it had seen better days, but for the most part he looked fine. Terrified and fine that is it.

“Hey…” you began to speak, the fear leaving you as you realized your adversary was only a child. “It`s okay, I won`t hurt you. Where`s your mom?” The kid only looked at you, still unmoving, still scared. The sliver of maternal instinct within you took charge, and with the most trusting smile you could muster, you moved closer. “It`s alright. My name`s Y/N, you can trust me.” Just as you were about to reach out for him, the boy moved closer. It was then that you saw him in his entirety. While most of his body was intact, his right arm and torso was torn and shredded. An entire chunk of his leg was missing, and you could even see some pieces of bone protruding from his skin. The flesh around his wounds was discoloured, a deep, disgusting shade of purple that had pieces of gore clinging to it.

The sight and smell alone made you turn away and heave, bile rising to your mouth as you vomited whatever imaginary content was in your stomach. Your throat continued to burn as you stumbled away from the boy, torn between pity and disgust.

“Liar…” the boy whimpered the words out as he moved towards you. His eyes looked conflicted and sad, but for the most part pained. Pain that no 7 year old should have to go through. Thank God it`s only a dream. “You let him take me.” The boy continued to moan, the agony reflected in his voice, “Everyone let him take me, no one stopped him.”

“What? Who?” you tried to stay composed, reminding yourself again and again that you were only dreaming.

The boy shrieked at that, his disfigured legs broke into a sprint as he tackled you. He wasn`t strong, which made sense since he was only a child, but he was definitely vicious. His nails and teeth made purchase in your skin as he clawed and screamed. Luckily you managed to fight him off, your age giving you superior control as you pushed the boy to a distance. There were scratches on your arm and face, but for the most part you were okay.

Suddenly you heard more moaning and whimpers, and in moments more amputated children were crawling out of the rows of seats. One vicious child was no problem, but a few hundred could get quite bloody. Quickly you turned around, and in an instant your legs took off for the exit. Just as you were about to reach it, you slammed into something. Your head was thrown back as you fell onto the ground, colliding with the dirt below almost painfully.

“What`s your rush, doll?”

Despite your dazed expression, you were quite intrigued by what you saw. Towering above you was a clown, dressed from head to toe in black and white. His attire was almost comical if not for the insane glint in his glassy, gray eyes. The groaning of the children in the background forced you onto your feet, and you then realized just how tall the man was. At least he was normal though. At least he wasn`t some zombie child out for your blood.

“My rush is _them_!” you retorted, pointing a finger at the approaching hordes. “Kindly move.” Sarcasm once again slipped into your voice as you pushed past him. He laughed as you slipped outside only to find more hordes of children populating the once abandoned fairgrounds. Some of them were queuing for rides while others played games and wandered around. They didn`t look happy though, not as you would expect in a carnival at least. Instead their eyes seemed to hold a certain lifelessness to them, all of their expressions twisted in pain.

“Hmm, you`re in quite a predicament.” The man was behind you once again, his voice far too cheerful for the current situation.

“Yeah.” You breathed the words out before adding with a hint of sarcasm, “Any ideas?”

“Thought you`d never ask!” he suddenly placed a hand on your shoulder, and you now realized just how sharp his nails were. Well, actually they weren`t nails at all, instead his fingers seemed to extend into claws. “I`ll call them off, they`ll listen to me.” He smiled a knowing smile before adding, “If you answer a few questions that is. Honestly.”

“Who are you exactly…?” now the discomfort settled in, there was something off about this ‘man’. It seemed as the seconds ticked by he started looking less like a man and more like a monster.

“Laughing Jack at your service.” He did a flamboyant little bow before smiling a dazzling, unsettling smile. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance and all.”

The children in the fairground now began to take notice of you, and you couldn`t help but take a few steps towards the clown. In minutes you would be swarmed, but is that really a bad thing? The worst that could happen was you would wake up. Then again what harm was there in humouring this clowns question. You were a little curious after all.

“What is it you want to know?” you replied rather calmly.

“Name?” he asked rather innocently, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking on the balls of his feet.

“Y/N.” you answered easily.

“Age?” he asked with a giggle, as if something about all this was really entertaining.

“Old enough.” You replied.

“Now then, where exactly are you?”

That one struck you as odd.

“A carnival? I`m not really sure myself.” You managed a shrug, noting how the children were crowded around, circling you yet not moving any closer. They were all just watching, their eyes on the clown rather than you.

“I mean, where are _you._ ” He emphasized the word before adding, “Your body, physically.”

The hospital, Metro General.

The answer was on the tip of your tongue, but for some reason you didn`t want to give it. That felt a little too personal, too important. You had a bad feeling about just giving it away. Then again if this is all a dream, then you have nothing to fear.

“Why do you care?” you decided to ask, raising your eyebrow as you stared him directly in the eye.

“That`s not an answer.” His tone dropped a little, becoming more sinister.

“Neither is that.” You managed to say before his hand wrapped around your throat, lifting you up with surprising ease. You were shocked and startled as he squeezed tightly, cutting off your air supply as you squirmed and thrashed. You could see white spots in your vision, and desperately you clawed at his wrists, trying so hard to push him away. You knew it was a dream, yet the pain and terror you felt at this moment was so surreal, you couldn`t help but act like your life depended on it.

“You`re a pretty little thing.” He mused before giggling. “choking suits you.”

Making any witty remarks was quite impossible with his hand around your neck, so instead you settled for squirming.

“Should I break your legs first? That way you can`t run.” He giggled again, “Oh, or maybe I should just skip to the main event. What would you prefer, doll?” He gave you a little shake but you only wheezed in response, your senses slowly began to fail you.

“A little bit of both then?” he chuckled one last time before dropping you.

Waking up would be nice around now.

“I usually play with children… as you can see.” The clown glanced at the whimpering mob of kids before locking his gaze on you. “But I`d be lying if I didn`t say I was having fun. Maybe after this is all over, I`ll keep you around. Then we could have fun, forever.” His clawed hand grasped your chin, harshly tugging on it to force your head towards him. “There are things I`ve always wanted to try…” he watched you for a moment, his expression almost thoughtful before he cleared his throat. “Now then, where are you?”

You glared at him for a few seconds, catching your breath despite the burning you felt in your throat. The feeling of oxygen entering your lungs was horrible, with each inhale and exhale, you felt a stabbing sensation inside. Still, you tried to speak, letting your determination prevail over your agony.

“Where are you?!” he demanded again, his playful tone now becoming more annoyed.

“Up your ass.” You mumbled with a smirk, watching his expression transfer from confusion to irritation to anger.

“Such language.” He growled, surprisingly taking a step back. “This is your last chance doll, either you tell me where you are, or I let my little…” he glanced at the children, “… playmates, get into you.”

You only glared at him, your willpower not faltering as he glared back. This was a dream. You were 100% sure about that. None of this was real, you had nothing fear. Even if those children dug into you, you`d wake up. That was all that would happen, and honestly it didn`t sound too bad. You wanted to wake up, wanted to be free from this nightmare.

“So be it.” He giggled once more before disappearing in a black puff of smoke.

You were a little surprised by that, but there was no time to contemplate considering the zombie kids were now getting closer. There was no point in running, screaming, or fighting back. Instead you remained absolutely still as they surrounded you, their little nails and teeth making purchase in your skin. The pain was the first thing to get a response from you. That awful, awful pain. You felt every bite, every scratch, every vicious little tug. Still, you tried to stay strong, hoping any second you`d wake up.

But you didn`t.

It continued like this, with them tearing you apart. It was horrifying, honestly horrifying. You watched and screamed as they pulled the flesh off of your arms, their nails digging into your stomach. You wanted it to stop, you wanted to wake up, but no matter how bad it got, you couldn`t wake. In all honesty, if this was reality, you would have been dead by now.

“Stop! Make it stop!” you sobbed the words out, writhing and twisting in an attempt to get away. God, it hurt so much.

“Tell me where you are.” You couldn’t see him, but you heard his words in your head, echoing in your mind, almost tauntingly. What choice did you have? The torture wasn`t slowing down, and you couldn`t take much more of it.

“Metro General!” you cried out.

“Room number?”

Really? The dream had to know the room number too? Sheesh.

“4B.” you whimpered, trying to twist away as a kid latched onto your torso, his teeth tearing the flesh away.

“Enough…” as soon as that word left his mouth the children backed away, giving you some room to breathe and cry in peace. The look on their faces was a cross between regret and hunger. Their mouths were dripping with your flesh and blood, the sheer sight making you want to turn away and vomit again.

“Now that wasn`t so hard.” the clown was in front of you again, his body lowering as he offered you his hand. You didn`t take it, instead you turned on your side, hugging your battered body as you tried to bite back the bile rising to your throat.

“Have it your way.” He shrugged before kneeling down beside you. He ran his clawed hand through your hair, almost in a caring fashion. You cringed away from the touch, but he continued to do it nonetheless. His other hand came to cradle your now torn-up one, and you vaguely felt him slip something into your palm. “A reward for your good behaviour,” he whispered.

He stood up now, wiping non-existent dust off his pants. “I`ll be seeing you soon doll, in person that is. Sure can`t wait. We`ll have so much fun.”

It was then that the dream began to fade, the carnival setting dissolving into darkness. You awoke startled and scared, cold sweat covering every inch of your shaking body. Your heart was hammering against your chest, it`s beating loud and frantic in your ears. You kicked the sheets off instantly, your head darting around the hospital room, searching for an intruder of sorts. It took five whole minutes before you calmed down enough to lay down.

So, it was all a dream, a terrible, cruel nightmare. What did you expect? After all you`ve been through, nightmares were a given. Those memories would haunt you for life, you knew that now. But at least, it would only be in dreams, and never reality. You released a wary sigh, allowing your head to lay back into the pillow. The thought of more nightmare filled sleep wasn`t too inviting, but you were tired still.

You were just about to close your eyes when you noticed something. Something that somehow slipped your attention before. Sitting up, you noticed there was something in the palm of your hand. Slowly you pulled your hand up to your face, releasing the fingers around it before staring at the object.

Sitting neatly in the palm of your hand was a wrapped piece of candy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> `Till next time, and please do comment :3


	5. Exposition and Insanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, and also sorry for any grammar or spelling errors I missed in this chapter. I haven`t written at all in a while, my excuse being summer vacation. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it :3

This was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. But what other choice did you have? You needed to escape. Not later, not tomorrow, but now. Right now. And so that`s exactly what you did. Tossing the sheets aside you got onto your feet, feeling the sharp sting of the tugging stitches in your thigh. You`d have to move carefully, slowly in hopes of keeping the stitches from tearing. Unfortunately slowing down wasn`t an option, God knows when those monsters would be here. For all you knew they could already be downstairs, maybe across the hall, perhaps they`re already at your door.

Just in case they were, you hesitated a little, glancing around the hospital room before pressing your ear against the door. You couldn`t hear anything. Was that a good or bad? Quietly you opened the door, peeking outside to see a guard leaning against the wall, his eyes on his phone, you presumed he was playing a game of sorts. Once he noticed you he quickly put the phone down, clearing his throat before giving you a stern look.

“Everythin` okay Miss?” he asked quickly.

“No. Everything is not okay.” You were about to unload all your fear and frustration on this poor man. “They know where I am. Those killers, they`re coming. I need to get out. I need to get somewhere safe.”

“Ya sure `bout that Miss?” the man raised an eyebrow, frowning at you, “How would they know where ya are?”

“Well…” what were you supposed to say? A crazy clown got you to spill the beans through a dream? As if they`d believe that. Heck, even you didn`t entirely believe it. “You`re right. It was all a bad dream probably. Can I… can I go to the washroom? Clear my head?”

“Yeah, whatever.” He waved at you dismissingly, turning his attention to his phone as you walked by. He didn`t seem all that interested in keeping you safe, and perhaps that was all the encouragement you needed. Turning the corner, you walked past the washroom, your eyes locking on the two massive double doors that signalled the stairwell. You placed one hand against the door, your mind freezing for a second as you took in the sight of your severed finger. Fingers don`t grow back, and that one mark would be a constant reminder of everything you had been through. It would always be there, always haunting you.

You tried to shake the thoughts away, pushing your hand against the door. It didn`t budge. This confused you, you were certain these doors didn`t come with a lock. Deciding you weren`t trying hard enough, you pushed the door harder, putting all your physical energy into it. It didn`t move an inch. Maybe you could find another way out. Quickly you turned around, all the blood draining from your body as you came eye to eye with the very man that tormented you only moments ago.

He was real. Far too real for you liking.

He sat back on the floor, his head propped on one hand as he smiled that dazzling smile. You also noticed how the hallway had suddenly darkened, the lights going off one by one with only the one above you remaining. Quite dramatic really, it seemed like something straight out of a horror movie. One of those really cliché, cheesy scenes that would make you laugh. Who knew in reality they were so gosh darn unsettling.

“You`re prettier in person doll.”

Ah, that voice. There was no doubt in your mind, it was the very clown from your dream. What had he called himself? Jack?

“You aren`t.” was your witty reply, your eyes were on him, steady and calm while your mind raced at a hundred miles per hour.

“Such rudeness.” He stood up now, and once again you were reminded of how tall he was, his body towering over yours. “And may I add, disobedient. I`m quite certain I asked you to stay put, and here you are planning such a daring escape? It won`t be long now, the boys are almost here.”

“I`ll tell you what I told them, I don`t know anything about Claire.” Surprisingly you weren`t as terrified as you expected to be. Perhaps being scared all the time could make a person numb to the emotion. Then again you were a little fearful, but not by all that much.

“Oh, I know, I know.” He walked right up to you, one clawed hand coming down to move a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Things have… changed.”

You took a step back, moving away from his touch. He frowned at that, almost rolling his eyes. You knew right then you were testing his patience, you needed to get that guards attention. Stat. Perhaps screaming wasn`t the best idea, especially with this clown`s claws only inches away.

“How about a game then?” he didn`t bother touching you again, taking a few steps back himself. “We coul-

“No!” you yelled the word, catching him by surprise as he quite literally jumped. Hopefully the guard had heard that.

“Geez, no need to yell doll.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking at you as if you were the crazy one.

“What`s wrong now?” the guard was turning the corner as he spoke, and you breathed a sigh of relief. The guard had a gun, everything would be okay now. He walked up to you, looking annoyed as he scratched the short, ginger hair on his head. “Why are you screamin`? This isn`t the washroom!”

You stared at him, your mouth open in disbelief. Was he blind or just stupid? Did he not see the 7-foot clown in front of you?

“Hello? Shoot the clown?” you gestured toward Jack, a little too irritated to care about anything but the guard`s incompetence.

“Crazy bitch.” He whispered the words under his breath but you managed to hear them, your temper flaring. “Look, Miss, you need some rest. C`mon.” He walked right up to you, paying Jack no mind as he grabbed your wrist, tugging you away harshly. You struggled at first, angry and annoyed as he pulled you along regardless. The whole time the clown giggled, waving at you as the guard took you around the hall.

“What are you doing?” your tone of voice easily conveyed your frustration. “Don`t you see the clown? He`s one of them, he`s with the killers! Do something?”

“I think ya need to be moved to a psych ward.” The guard mumbled, dragging you back to your room before tossing the door open and pushing you inside. You heard him huff another curse before hearing his body lean against the wall again.

Angrily you turned around, wondering what to do next when you realized just how alone you were. Well, you weren`t. Not by a longshot. Instead, laying on his side on your bed was the very clown, his gray eyes boring into your own. You wouldn`t be surprised if he drove people crazy with that little trick. Only five minutes and the guard was already convinced that you were nuts.

Now what should you do? Try to escape again? Only for that guard to toss you back in. No, that was a bad idea. Perhaps you could confront him? Knock out his little clown ass. You considered it, your eyes darting around the room in search of a weapon. The closest thing to a weapon you could find was the metallic food tray on your nightstand. Would that really do any good? Clearly the clown was something more than human. Or maybe…. He wasn`t anything at all.  Maybe it truly was all in your imagination. Perhaps that was why the guard didn`t see him?

Still, you weren`t going to take any chances.

“So, I`m crazy now.” You stated the words slowly, letting it sink in, trying to grow accustomed to it. Of course, you didn`t buy it for a minute. There was no way you were crazy, there was no way this was a hallucination. Then again… what would a hallucination look like? You imagined something similar. Insanity was honestly so difficult to grasp. Do the crazy ones think they`re sane, while the sane ones think they`re crazy? You weren`t sure, but you opted to hold your wits together.

“It`s not so bad.” The clowns grin grew, he had one hand holding his head up while the other toyed with the plain, white bedsheets. “Insanity can be quite fun.”

“I think I`ll take boring old sanity.” You managed to say, taking a few steps back only to be greeted by the locked door against your back. For some reason folding your arms over your chest made you feel a little secure, and so you stood with a quite guarded posture.

He chuckled at that, finding it very amusing for some reason. You on the other hand were not at all amused.

“A few nights with me and I assure you doll…” he was moving now, sitting up on the bed, arms on either side as he stared at you with a certain predatory glint. “Well, scratch that, one night is more than enough… I`ll drive you insane.”

You said nothing, what could you say to him anyways? Provoke him with more stupid banter? Threaten him with empty vows? Ask him questions that would only lead to more confusion?

“Come here…” his voice lingered, sinister, inviting, and oh so horrible at the same time. Yeah, there was no way you were getting close to him. “Still disobedient I see?” he chuckled again, a dark, deep laugh that made you tremble. He aroused both fear and… other emotions that you were not quite ready to deal with. So instead you made a point to dig your back against the door, putting as much distance as humanely possible between the two of you.

He gave a heavy sigh, standing up slowly, taunting you as he began to pace around, not yet coming too close. You kept your eyes on him the entire time, praying there were no zombie children hiding in the corner, simply preparing to attack you again. Hopefully that part would remain only in your nightmares.

“I`ve never been in such a… delicate predicament.” His voice held that amused tone you were becoming accustomed too. “I can`t kill you, unfortunate, you`re a real looker doll. Bet you`d look scrumptious nailed to the wall with your organs spilling out…”

You took a moment to swallow the fear in your throat.

“We could play some games…” he continued to suggest, “But I play rough, wouldn`t want to break you before the boys get here. Do you understand now… how strange this is for me? What am I to do with you to kill time?”

You vaguely considered suggesting one of the many board games they kept in the back cupboards to entertain patients. Then again you were sane enough to know better than to indulge the psychopath in front of you. So, you opted for silence, meticulously watching him as he returned the glare with vicious intent. He seemed so inviting really, his attire was goofy looking, his appearance was actually quite charming. But you knew better than to fall for that, you knew better than to fall for his allure. It was all a trap wasn`t it? Just a ruse to get close to his prey before striking.

“But you’re a big girl, aren`t you doll?” he was now walking towards you, his frame towering above yours, mere inches away. He moved fast, you barely had time to flinch as he placed one hand beside you, leaning closer as he practically hovered over you. “Would you like to play a grown-up game?”

You figured he wasn`t suggesting poker.

“I`ll pass.” You muttered the sentence, wondering if the clown was as insisting as Jeff. After a brief silence he chuckled once again, this time backing away completely.

“You`re quite a bore.” He sighed, still smiling as he dropped back onto the bed. “I could never find the fun in rape. Jeffery on the other hand… ah, he`s a creative little bastard.”

You couldn`t help but cringe at the thought of him, your body practically aching whenever you heard his name. The wounds he inflicted on you felt fresh whenever you thought of him, picturing those haunting eyes, that sadistic voice, and that god-awful smile. You quickly dismissed him from your head, shaking it off to the best of your ability.

“Why are you doing this… give me a straight answer, please.” You could hear the defeat in your voice. “I don`t understand how I`m any use to you, I don`t know where Claire is, I don`t even know why you want her…”

“I suppose it won`t hurt to give you a little exposition.” He sat up again, moving to one side to make space. “Come sit with me, and I`ll give you a _straight_ answer.”

You hesitated for a good while, weighing your options before moving towards him. If he wanted to hurt you, he could easily do so whether you`re sitting by him or standing away. So what difference would it make to comply to the sickos wishes. Still, you decided to put a little space between the two of you as you sat beside him. That distance didn`t last very long as he moved closer to fill it up.

“See, that wasn`t so hard doll.” He said as he placed a single claw on your shoulder, toying with the material of your hospital gown. “Did Claire ever tell you about her family…? I`ll take your silence as a no. Well, believe it or not our little Claire had a few secrets. Some of her juicier ones being her fathers career. Fran-something, something Jones was the top agent looking into the existence of me and my… accomplices, friends is such a loose term. Unfortunately for Mr. Jones, he found a little too much, so much so that he met with an untimely accident. Ah, poor Mr. Jones, he`s resting at the bottom of the Hudson now… well, most of him is at least. I lost some of his head on the gravel.” The clown paused to giggle at the memory before resuming, “Turns out, before his death, our agent emailed all his research to another unfortunate soul, his lovely daughter Claire…”

“And you need the stuff Claire has?” you asked, hoping you were on the right track.

“We need Claire dead, and that _information_ destroyed. Try to understand doll, Jones didn`t just find out where we like to spend our Friday nights. He has sensitive stuff… dangerous stuff, secrets my accomplices- and more importantly I- would prefer to keep buried. Does that make sense in your pretty little head?”

“I… I still don`t know where she is.” You were once again brought back to that point. “And I don`t know any of your secrets, I`ve never seen the emails, I didn`t even know they existed. My point is… why won`t you let me go?”

“Oh, silly me, forgetting such an important tidbit. Why, you`re the bait. Claire doesn`t have any immediate family anymore, you`re the only one we could find that she might possibly give a fuck about.”

“We were roommates yeah, friends and all… but there`s no way she`s giving up her life to save me.”

“Yes well, Jeffery did place his money on that. Even called dibs on killing you when the plan failed, the impulsive brat…” the clown was giggling between his sentences again, apparently far too amused to hold it together. “I think Toby betted on you though, better hope he`s right eh? I`ll make it real simply for you doll, when Claire is dead and the emails destroyed, you`re free to go… and if you prove to be useless, well, me and Jeffery will certainly be fighting over the pleasure to kill you.”

That was all you needed to hear before you quickly lunged for the metal tray on your nightstand. In an instant, you brought it crashing down against Jack`s face, slapping him in the most satisfying of ways. The clown made a surprised sound as he fell back into the bed, clearly shocked but not hurt as you crawled over to his side, holding the tray over him again.

“Listen here you fucking Juggalo-

“Juggalo? Really? That`s what you-

“Shut up! Say one more word and I swear I`ll smash your head in with this thing.”

“You have a violent side to you yet.” He chuckled, and you were so tempted to see through with your threat. Luckily for him you were a quite moral person, and the thought of bashing someone’s brains in with a metal tray made you sick

“Just one little comment before you carry on trying to kill me doll.” He spoke as if he had a trick up his sleeve, and you were quite certain your plan was about to be completely ruined. Not that you really had much of a plan to begin with. “That tray was awfully loud. Isn`t it funny that the guard hasn`t peeked in to check it out?”

It was at that moment that you dropped the tray, your stomaching already churning with fear as you dreaded the face you were about to see. You weren`t sure whether to feel relieved or horrified when you found Toby standing in the doorway, traces of blood and gore leaking on the floor around him. From the corner of your eye you could see a phone laying on its side, the screen still bright while the contents of a game played. Quickly you tried not to think about the guard, instead focusing on Toby. At least it wasn`t Jeff at the door, that pasty-faced monster was out for your blood, Toby on the other hand… was a little more unpredictable really. Maybe it was the fact that the brown-haired man had a bet placed on your survival that made you trust him slightly more. Still, what did it matter, at the end of this Claire would carry on running for her life, and you`d be completely helpless as Jack and Jeff both tore into you.

God, you were about ready to throw up. Good thing there was nothing but water in your system at the current moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked it. Already starting on the next chapter, so much Toby goodness~ Regardless, please do comment, that honestly what I write for, the moments I get to spend reading my feedback afterwards :3


	6. Can Someone Kindly Point Out the Nearest Exit?

You didn`t remember falling asleep, which was probably why you woke up startled, jumping up and looking around frantically. You didn’t manage to get far, realizing your hands were tied behind your back, a black strap found its way across your chest. It took a moment for the sleep to leave your eyes, and after a bit of blinking you managed to make sense of your situation. You were in a car, in the backseat with a seat belt holding you in place. The window sat only mere inches from your face, practically taunting you with how close freedom was. There was a forest outside, skinny, dark trees reaching up for the sky. It was night, or perhaps it was almost morning? Regardless the sky was a certain, eerie shade of gray, very unsettling.

“She`s finally awake.”                                                            

It was a raspy voice that pulled your attention from the window to the two seats in front of you. The voice had come from the driver’s seat, and so you found yourself trying to make out the figure that controlled the car. He was practically engulfed in shadows, you barely managed to notice the tan colored jacket he wore or the sleek, white object that was pulled back over his dark hair. A mask of sorts? It looked like one. He wasn`t wearing it over his face though, thank god for that, you doubted it would be easy to drive with a mask on.

Instinctively you continued to scan your surroundings, taking note of the yellow-clad figure that sat on the opposing seat. He seemed to be hooded, regardless his face was turned to the window, making it impossible for you to see any bit of him. For a moment, you stupidly thought it was only the three of you in the car, then as you quietly readjusted yourself you noticed the man beside you. Caught off guard you whipped your head around, ready to defend yourself. Luckily you didn`t have to, your heartbeat immediately relaxing as you recognized Toby. He didn`t look as threatening as he usually did, instead, his head was lolled back against the leather seats, his eyes closed while his goggles and face-mask rested idly around his neck. Judging by the steady rising and falling of his chest you figured he was asleep.

“Where… where are you taking me?” you`d think by now you`d be used to waking up in strange places with irritable people denying to answer any question you dared to ask. Still, it was simply human nature to be curious, and so you remained optimistic, eyes on the driver as he smoothly turned the car onto an even darker looking road. Perhaps it was your imagination, but it seemed the forest was growing darker and thicker, the road becoming more narrow every passing second.

“You hear that hoodie?” the driver seemed to snicker, “She expects us to answer her? I hate it when they get so comfortable… like I wouldn`t bash their heads in if I got the chance...”

Was he talking to you? You already decided you didn`t like him, not that your preference ever seemed to matter in the long run. Now, back to business, how the hell do you get out of here? You gave your wrists a little tug, honestly shocked when you felt the knots slipping a little. Holy shit… you could honestly slip out of these with a bit of effort. Quickly you glanced at the front seats, they didn`t seem to be paying attention to you, the driver contently tapping his forefinger on the wheel as he drove. You then glanced to your side, Toby seemed as asleep as one could be. You took a moment to form a little plan, going over it in your head again and again. You`d slip out of the binds but keep your hands behind your back, then you could scoot closer to the door, watching the side of the road and waiting to see plenty of foliage. Once you found a soft spot coming up you`d have to act fast, throwing the door open and removing the belt before jumping out into the shrubbery. Then you`d simply have to jump onto your feet and sprint into the woods, hopefully losing your pursuers in the process.

Yeah, it was a pretty terrible plan.

A lot of things could go wrong, but dammit you were not a quitter. If you let these monsters have their way, you`d most certainly die. This was your one shot at survival, and by God, you were going to make it count. You felt the binds slip off your wrists, and after a deep inhale of breath you leaned your head against the window, watching the side of the road. Minutes ticked by like hours, your nerves building up as the dread settled in your stomach. You were terrified, the simple idea of running away terrified you. You were scared the driver would look back, notice your free hands and stop you before you could even act.

You were almost tempted to give up on the little escape plan, the thought of just giving in and sitting back becoming more appealing with each passing second. You were probably going to give in to that when you suddenly noticed a large amount of shrubs coming up on the side of the road. You didn`t even think, your mind completely empty as your tore the seatbelt off, the second you threw the door open was the second the car came to an abrupt spot. You pushed your entire weight out of the car, almost tasting the dirt of the ground when a hand wrapped around your waist. It seemed like in only a second you were pulled back into the car, the door closing as all thoughts of freedom seemed to disappear.

You trembled and thrashed in Toby`s grip, but the killer easily held you to his chest, looking almost annoyed as he stared at the back of the driver`s seat. You could have sworn he was asleep earlier.

“Let me go!” you screamed, a little surprised at how loud you were getting. Apparently being so close to death could do that to a person.

“Want my knife?” the driver, who now resumed driving asked as he ruffled one hand through what you figured was his pockets. “You can cut her tongue out.”

This was the second time someone threatened to permanently shut you up. Perhaps if you had the vaguest hope being quiet would save your life, you`d gladly cease to speak. But, you knew it wasn`t going to be that simple, and so you continued to scream. Squirming and thrashing, occasionally your nails would find purchase in Toby`s skin, and you`d viciously scratch at him. All the while he seemed reluctant to hurt you back, instead opting to try to restrain you. Of course, you didn`t make it easy for him, kicking him a little too hard in the jaw. That seemed to be the final straw because the moment he turned back to glare, you knew you had done fucked up. He backhanded you so hard you honestly lost your vision for a moment, your head snapping to the side as you couldn`t help but stumble onto your back.

“She`s fiesty.” You vaguely heard the driver speak, his voice passive aggressive.

“Sh-Shut up Tim.” Toby seemed even more annoyed as he addressed the driver, his brown eyes turning back to glare at you. He sighed an irritated sigh before grabbing you by the shoulder and pulling you up into a sitting position. You flinched at his touch but he firmly grabbed your chin, turning your face towards him so he could examine you. His eyes were hard and cold, not the warm shade of brown you remembered them as. He turned your face this way and that way before letting you go, not making the slightest bit of eye contact.

“You`ll be fine.” He said the words calmly, laying his head back against the seat again, staring up at the cars roof. “D-Don`t try anything stupid again Y/N.”

Go to hell, was the reply you came up with in your mind. For obvious reasons you decided not to vocalize your thoughts. The rest of the drive continued in silence, occasionally the driver, Tim, would mumble some sort of complaint to ‘Hoodie’. You figured Hoodie was the quiet guy on the other seat. For most of the drive though you were left alone to think through your situation. You tried to come up with new escape plans, you even tried to think of what they`d do to you, where they were taking you. You even thought about the guard, momentarily remembering the puddle of blood you saw pooling around Toby`s feet at the hospital. That guard was dead because of you. Even before that, the man, the father, the one who picked you up off the road when you had escaped the cabin... he was dead too, and it was all your fault. If by some miracle Claire decided to trade her life for yours, she`d be dead too. You honestly couldn`t decide what was the better option, you dying at the hand of these killers, or Claire dying before your very eyes.

The drive didn`t last much longer, you heard the car come to a smooth stop, Toby`s arm wrapping around your waist as he kicked the door open. You were quickly dragged out with him, now noticing that the road had come to an end, black pine trees all around. Toby held you firmly against him, his hands on your wrists as you felt him tightly wrap the binds across your arms. Once he was content with their tightness he whirled you around and gave you a little push, ordering you to walk. Not knowing what else you could do, you obeyed, taking one careful step after the other, the whole while the killer kept one finger on your binds, making it impossible for you to run away.  You also had a sneaking suspicion that you couldn`t possibly outrun the men behind you. You didn`t dare turn around but you could vaguely hear the driver chatting quietly with who you assumed was ‘Hoodie’.

Your feet were sore and aching when you finally found yourself walking into a clearing, now able to make out the towering building that stood meters away. With thick, dark forest all around it, the building was completely hidden from prying eyes. Not that you expected anyone would willingly snoop around it. There was something about it, something absolutely unsettling. It was large, worn, and honestly creepy. It vaguely reminded you of a gothic mansion, adorned with shattered windows and creaking pillars. The gardens around it were tiresome, most of the plants overgrown or dead. One extreme or the other.

Despite your best efforts, you couldn`t see the mansion in its entirety. It seemed to go on for miles, hints of dark towers and graying ruins making their way into your vision. What the hell was this place? Considering your previous experiences with these sadists, you expected dirty old cabins, maybe even a cave of sorts.

“What is this place?” you couldn`t help but ask, expecting no answer.

“Where pretty little brats go to die.”

You instantly recognized that voice, your heart suddenly finding itself in your throat as you took a few instinctive steps backwards. You instantly found Toby behind you, holding you steady as you couldn`t help but stare at the amused looking Jeff who lounged around on the creaking stairs of the mansions porch. Did all those monsters just hang out around here? Were you going to find Jack next?

No, you couldn`t take this, you couldn`t take another second.

You were scared, so terribly scared. Your body remembered the cabin, your body remembered Jeff sinking his knife into your thigh. Quickly you pulled away from Toby`s grip, taking a few steps away from him as well. You remembered the way he held your hand up against the wall, you remembered those brown eyes as he took his axe and severed your finger. With the stress and helplessness sinking in you found your eyes darting from Toby to Jeff, not sure which one to hate more. You wanted to run, you couldn`t bare the thought of being tied up in another basement, subdued to even more torture before they finally killed you.

Oh god, were you crying?

Your finger carefully came to your face, feeling a warm tear trailing down your cheek. You heard someone behind you laugh at that, and with one quick glance you found yourself completely surrounded. The driver stood tall, built rather strongly with a painted white mask over his face, hiding what you figured was an amused expression. Beside him stood the ominous ‘Hoodie’ you had heard so much about, adorned in an expected yellow hood, his face hidden behind a dark mask of his own. They were all insane sickos, and at this moment they stood at either side of you. They were going to drag you into that building, then you`d only find more monsters, more knives, axes, clawed clowns and zombie children to tear off more of your flesh.

You were beginning to feel insane, scared and desperate too… but mostly insane. Can fear drive people crazy? Well, you`d find out sooner or later.

Jeff swiftly stood up, his hands sinking into the pockets of his white hoodie as he took one dramatic step after the other. He was right in front of you in a moment, and in all your fear you couldn`t find the courage to move, to scream, to smack him right in his ugly face.

“Boo.” He whispered the word, smirking that awful smile before reaching out to touch you. He thankfully never got the chance, Toby`s hand wrapping around Jeff`s wrist to stop him. The two didn`t say a word to each other, instead, brown eyes simply glared at black ones until Jeff rolled his crazed eyes and tugged his hand away.

“Whatever.” The paler killer turned his attention to the driver and ‘Hoodie’. “The big man`s been waiting for you guys. You too Toby, toss the brat in the cells and hurry up, I don’t enjoy being the fucking messenger.”

“Cells?” Toby clearly didn`t like the idea of that, “J-Jack`s keeping his food in there.”

Jack? Were they talking about the clown?

“So?” Jeff gave a little, unamused shrug.

“So…” Toby seemed to twitch before continuing, “The prisoner, he`ll eat Y/N alive, mans been star-starving for five days.”

At this point you were honestly confused. So, Jack, who you assumed was the clown kept his food in the cells? And this food would eat you alive because it- no, he- is starving. The food is a person. Jack eats people?! Oh God, there were other people here, other prisoners, and they were apparently starving and ready to cannibalize you. Fucking perfect…

“Well…” the driver was speaking now, moving closer until he was behind you. You practically shivered as he placed a hand on your shoulder, you could feel all the aggression he was emanating. “Me and Hoodie could keep her until go time… What`s the rule? We can`t kill her, right? Hey Brian, remember that torture method Ben saw in one of his games? We could finally try it out. How does it go? Needles straight down the finger, under the nail?” you could tell he was grinning as he spoke, his mask trained on your horrified expression. “Well, we can experiment.”

You absolutely hated yourself for what you did next, but you knew it was the smartest thing to do. With the sadist driver on one side, and a lingering Jeff on the other, you obviously backed up into Toby`s chest. You tilted your head upwards, catching the surprise in his brown eyes as he looked down at you. He was your best bet at survival, or at least a less painful death. You didn`t trust him, and you would gladly stab him in the back to get away, but compared to the alternatives you needed to get Toby to fight for you. For the slightest second, you felt pretty smart, a sliver of hope strengthening itself inside you.

“Please let me stay with you.” You bit back all thoughts of hate, fear, and anger, sounding as vulnerable as you were as you said those words to him. Toby only blinked down at you, not saying anything as the others watched him carefully.

“Aw isn`t that cute.” The driver spoke bitterly, as passive aggressive as ever. “I don`t think she understands who she`s dealing with.” He didn`t move any closer, but you could feel his mask boring into you. “I hope you don`t think Toby`s going to keep you all warm and safe. Man`s a fucking sadist… heh, you`ll find out soon enough.”

“I don`t know guys…” it was Jeff that spoke next, his lidless eyes glaring accusingly at Toby, “He seems soft on her.”

“Are we talking about the same Toby?” the driver, Tim, turned his mask towards Jeff, clearly not believing him. “Come on Brian, big man needs us.” On that note, the driver and Hoodie walked past Jeff, heading towards the large double doors that stood at the entrance of the mansion.

The paler killer watched the doors for a moment, the corners of his lips arching down, forming as much of a frown as he could considering his mutilated smile.

“LJ`s already trying to get in contact with Claire…” Jeff was speaking to Toby now, “He hasn’t been able to in weeks, but he thinks he`s getting close.  Well whatever, fuck it for all I care. Point is, when I see Y/N next, she better be bruised and battered. Always knew you were a fucking softie, just another one of Slendys tools eh…? Yeah, figured. I`ll see you around.”

Toby didn`t say anything and Jeff only scoffed in response, turning away before walking away just as dramatically as he had entered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and you can probably expect the next one soon. I`ve got so much planned for this story, and I`m very excited xD Anyways, as always please leave a comment, kudos, and all that jazz. But mostly, just comment, I live for the feedback :3  
> Till next time`


	7. Setting the Ground Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the feedback :'3 I feel appreciated.

You weren`t entirely sure what to think as Toby led you through the mansion. Perhaps mansion wasn`t the right word, when you think of a mansion you think of something lavish and luxurious. This place was neither of those things, instead it was quite the opposite. It looked unsettling, empty, and quite creepy to be honest. The walls were chipped and dark, the occasional stains making you wonder what in the world went on in this place. Well, you actually had a few ideas about what went on. It didn`t take much for you to notice the dark red drops on the wooden floors, or the old, torn-up furniture. Most of the lights didn`t work or were missing, but you did vaguely notice sound and luminescence coming from certain rooms, not that you got close enough to investigate.

Toby had a very particular way of guiding you. Instead of leading the way like you expected, he walked behind you, casually telling you when to turn right, when to go left, when to move towards the stairs. Yes, that`s right, stairs. You were walking up the staircase at this very moment, not appreciating how confining it was. With the railings on one side, creaking wood below you, and a psychopath blocking you from behind, you had no other choice but to comply.

From what you had heard and seen so far you were certain of one thing. There were a lot of people in this… estate, yeah, let`s call it an estate. Thought you couldn`t see them all, you saw traces of their existence everywhere. From the sounds of televisions, to the hushed chattering and the occasional room lights being switched off. The only question in your mind was who they were. More killers like Toby and Jeff? Or perhaps more victims like you? No, wait, you remembered the officers when you were at the hospital. They had told you how odd it was for the killers to be kidnapping, that they usually murdered their victims.

You were all alone in a house of monsters, weren`t you?

“Turn r-right, se-second door.” He awkwardly cleared his throat, and you didn`t bother turning to look at him as you followed the order. Your feet, which were quite tired from trekking through the woods, obediently made their way down the hall. You kept your eyes on the unstable looking wooden floors, occasionally peeking at the walls from the corner of your eyes. There were no paintings or decorations, but the walls did seem a lot cleaner on the upper levels.

“Are there people here….?” You asked the question with a bit of uncertainty, wondering if he minded you speaking. “I mean… people like me.”

“Open the door.” Was his only response, and not daring to disobey you followed his order. The room was a bedroom of sorts, and surprisingly quite tidy. It wasn`t anything lavish or extravagant, instead it was pretty plain. There was a queen-sized mattress on a thin, metal bedframe against a wall. In the corner of the room sat two sets of those cheap, plastic drawers you could buy at Wal Mart. By the looks of it they were filled to the brim with clothes and other smaller things you couldn`t quite recognize. Other than that, you noticed a dark but hefty duffel bag sticking out from under the bed, across from it was another door in the wall, you assumed the bathroom. All in all, it wasn`t how you`d decorate your room, but at least there weren`t blood stains littering the floors.

“Walk.” His voice was rather quiet, but with a deep sigh you did as he said. He walked into the room as well, moving past you, his hands in his pockets as he moved towards the center of the floor. “Close the d-d… door.”

That particular request was a little difficult, your eyes were staring at the door knob as if it dictated your survival. Were you really ready to seal yourself in a room with a known serial killer? A killer who in the past has shown you just how vicious he could be? Your hand trembled at the thought, the absence of your finger impossible to miss. It took a minute of silent struggle before you finally slammed the door close.

Next you turned to him, wondering if he was annoyed, angry maybe? No, he wasn`t. His brown eyes just stared at you in the calm way he did. What was his deal anyways? You weren`t an idiot, you knew there was no affection or sympathy for you in his eyes. You were smarter than that. Proven serial killers don`t go soft on their victims all of a sudden after a few days. Silently you considered the possibilities. Was it because you were a woman? Was it a sexual attraction? You`d find soon enough, after all you had just locked yourself in a room with him, a bedroom at that too. If he was looking for some sexual satisfaction you really could do nothing but comply. What would fighting get you? Another slap to the face? Maybe he`ll take another finger?

“You d-d-d…” he paused, sighing for a moment, “You d-don`t leave this room. They`ll kill you outside that door.” His eyes briefly travelled from your nervous frame to the door before his eyes once again settled on yours. “They aren`t patient, they won`t wait for your execution. No one`s stupid enough to break into my room, but in those hallways, on that staircase. If y-you`re seen, you`re dead, understand?”

You nodded.

“Good.” He took a few steps back, sitting down on the bed, his hands on either side of him as he rolled his shoulders back, relaxing a little. “Th-that`s rule one.”

“How many rules are there?” you asked, and he gave a rather comforting, little smile.

“Rule two…” he ignored your question as he continued, “If you disobey, rebel, _try_ to escape. I will hurt you. I s-say try because you won`t succeed. Ever. If by s-s-some miracle you make it out the front door… I will break your legs. There is a sledgehammer in the basement for ju-just this reason. Understand?’

You nodded a little quicker this time.

“When I`m not here, you can have the bed.” He gave the mattress a little pat, “I us-usually won`t be here. The washrooms right there, don`t ever lock its door, it won`t keep me out. Instead… I`ll have one broken down door to fix, and a disobedient prisoner to torture… o-okay? Good. Right, you need clothes.” he stood up at that, steadily moving towards the drawers before beginning to rummage. You glanced down at yourself, indeed noting that you were in a dirty hospital gown and nothing more.

“H-here.” He stood before you all of a sudden, and yet again you wondered how he moved so quickly without you noticing. Quietly you accepted the balled-up clothing he handed you, assuming it was his. It was honestly a kind gesture, and that  bothered you so much. Why was he doing this? Being considerate, being as kind as a sadistic bastard like him could? You simply had to know.

“Why are you treating me so… kindly?” you hoped it wasn`t an insulting thing to say, and so you carefully watched his expression. His warm brown eyes didn`t waver, his expression remaining as composed as it always had.

“You misunderstand…” he took a few steps back, his hands once again finding their way into his pockets. “I d-d-don`t care about you. I would kill you if I c-could. But I can`t right now. My… boss, he needs you alive, and I _will_ keep you alive, until he`s done with you.” That cold look in his warm eyes told you he wasn`t kidding. You were mistaken to think the killer had some liking towards you, it was all part of his job wasn`t it? Some messed up loyalty, a need for duty. Pathetic. “I`m being kind because I hope i-it`ll make you b-behave… if it doesn`t, I won`t be kind.” He was smiling again, his hand coming to his mouth as if to cover up an almost chuckle. “Did you think I… I cared about you?”

Your natural instinct tempted you to lash out at the accusation, but common sense made you smarter. So, you opted to do nothing, just folding your arms over your chest as he finished his half-hearted chuckling.

“You won`t hurt me as long as I listen… but what about what Jeff said? He said if I wasn`t bruised an-“

“Sh-shut up.” His voice was still level, but he did speak a little more impatiently now. “Jeff is an impulsive, arrogant little fucker who`s deluded himself into th-th-thinking he can take me in a fight…”

You didn`t say anything, easily sensing the aggression Toby was beginning to give off. So, the man clearly didn`t like Jeff, well, that was one thing the two of you had in common.

“Go change.” He sighed the order, his hands moving to remove his hatchets from their holster. For a moment, you feared for your life, but soon calmed down as you saw him open the duffel bag and drop them in it. Instinctively you noted down that piece of information before turning away and heading towards the washroom. He said nothing as you quietly closed the door, almost tempted to lock it before thinking better and instead focusing on your clothes. Surprisingly the bathroom was actually very… pretty? Clean? Well-lit? A little bit of everything. It looked like a very normal washroom, fitted with nice rugs and an array of sanitization necessities. You couldn`t help but snoop a little, noting that murderers used Colgate toothpaste and Dollar Shave Club razors.

Naturally you began by stripping down, your eyes on the mirror as you examined your body. There were still bandages wrapped around your thighs and fingers, perhaps it would be wise to change them, but you didn`t really have anything to change them with. So, you decided to ignore the wounds, instead turning to scrutinize your features. It was no secret that your body had seen better days, you were a little leaner than you usually were, no surprise considering your diet the past week. Your hair looked pretty tangled and bedraggled too, not to mention there were bags under your eyes and… oh god, a bluish bruise stood notably against the skin of your cheek. You briefly remembered Toby slapping you in the car.

Your eyes lazily glanced at the shower behind you, it looked clean, it looked inviting. Then your eyes went back to the door. You weren`t insane, you knew this wasn`t some guest hotel for you to get all comfortable in. All the monsters here wanted your head, only one of them was willing to wait his turn for it, there was no way in hell you were going to provoke him. Quickly you began to unravel the ball of clothing, identifying a rather large, gray T-shirt before slipping it on. It loosely hung around your ass, and was quickly followed by a pair of jeans…

Jeans that didn`t fit at all, despite your best efforts you couldn`t keep the hem from slipping off your waist, heck the pants were way too long for your legs too. There was no way you could walk in these without them slipping off or with you tripping on the excess fabric. Turning back to the mirror you gave the shirt a tug, wondering just how low you could get it to go. Even though it hung well over your ass, you didn`t feel at all comfortable in it.

Then again Toby had seen your legs before.

When you were chased out of your apartment, when you were kidnapped and holed up in that cabin… you did not have pants on. You remembered the sweater and underwear you wore when you had fled the killers for the first time.

Fuck it.

On that note you opened the door, flicking the washrooms lights off as you awkwardly tiptoed into the room. The killers back was to you, his arms over his head as he was in the middle of slipping a T-shirt on. You briefly caught a glimpse of his naked shoulders and back, noting just how toned he was. Yeah, you were quite certain there was no way you could take that man in a fight. What did make you a little curious was the lack of bullet holes in his back. You quite distinctly remembered him being shot when the cops had arrived to save you that time. Maybe you just missed it, or perhaps he was wearing a bullet proof vest then? Yeah, you doubted it.

With that done he turned to look at you, obviously knowing you were standing there. Now without his mask, goggles, or dirt and blood stained attire on, he looked quite… normal. Not knowing what else to do you returned his stare, noticing how his eyes went down from your face, to your chest, before stopping at your stomach. He didn`t look any lower, instead his attention returned back up your eyes. It was then that you remembered you were pantless.

“They… didn`t fit.” You managed to say.

“I`ll talk to Ben, his might fit you.” Toby mumbled, taking a few steps towards his bed before dropping on his back against the mattress. His arms came to rest behind his head, his eyes now on the ceiling. Is this what he did in his free time? Now that you thought about it there wasn`t any means of entertainment in his room.  No television, no radio, no books. You honestly didn`t care about the killers lack of hobbies, but you did care about the fact that you`d be spending a week locked up in some room with nothing but talking and sleep to pass the time.

“Ben?” you decided you might as well try to get used to talking to him then, “Is he like you?”

“E-ev-everyone here but you, is like me.” Was his simple answer.

“What about that man? You said Jack was keeping a man in a cell?” you quickly remembered the killers discussing the cell.

“Th-that man will be dead soon. Jack will have dissected him before tonight.”

“Dissected?” honestly you shouldn`t be surprised this point, all these monsters here were demented.

“Kidneys, J-J… Jack eats them.” Toby gave a slight twitch before sinking further into his mattress. It looked soft.

“So, the clown controls zombie children and eats kidneys, sure, why not.” You wouldn`t be surprised if you lost you sanity before tomorrow.

“Not that Jack.” He spoke briefly.

So, there were two Jacks? Great, absolutely great. So far including the two Jacks, Toby, Jeff, Ben, Tim, and Hoodie, that was seven psychopaths under one roof. Wait, there was also a boss. That makes eight. Well, eight that you knew about. For all you know there could be many more.

“Why?” your eyes narrowed in on his laying figure as you spoke, your back finding itself against a cold wall before you sank down into a sitting position. “Why do you kill people? Why do you work for this… boss?”

“L-let`s just say it wasn`t by choice.” He scoffed

“I`m going to die, aren`t I?”

He only hummed in response.

“I`m going to spend my last days in this little room…” you continued.

He remained silent.

“You betted on my survival, Jack told me.”

No response.

“Tell me why?” you clarified.

“I`m an optimist.” He said rather cheekily, now clearly amused. “Your mundane life is over… you won`t get it b-b-back. But, if you`re smart…” he didn`t finish the sentence, and you didn`t need him too.

Your options were all laid out in front of you. Despite the creeping insanity and hopelessness, you weren`t ready to give up. Perhaps you were too stubborn, or perhaps you were also an optimist. Regardless, you knew your choices.

Your eyes briefly went to the duffel bag, your mind picturing the hatchets that lay snugly within it. He had placed them there in front of you, he knew you were watching, obviously he didn`t think you a threat. You`d prove him wrong. Let`s see how the little fucker feels when you chop his fingers off… okay, well, you weren`t that sadistic. But still, you were desperate, the idea of killing someone to escape didn`t sound too bad.

Another option though was to play his little game, to win him over, to use your mind and mouth to befriend him. You had some time before they`d contact Claire, some time to talk to him, to get into his head. To make him care about you, to make him keep you around.

He was a killer though. A monster. Even if by some miracle you took him out, there were still seven other monsters standing between you and that front door. Not to mention an entire forest for you to navigate before finding any traces of civilization. If they stopped you, if _he_ stopped you, there would be no way he`d ever trust you again. If you failed to escape you would never win him over, your death would be certain, and the fucker would probably torture you too.

You trembled as your mind pictured Tim shoving those blades down your nails.

Gulping down the lump in your throat, you took a deep breath, your eyes finding Toby laying rather calmly on the mattress, his chest rising at that steady pace a sleeping person would sport. You knew better than to fall for that though, and so you stayed rather guarded as you leaned into your spot against the wall. You weren`t tired, you had slept in the car, and in all honestly despite how reasonable the man before you was, you didn`t feel at all comfortable sleeping in his presence. So, with a heavy heart you hugged in your knees, burying your head in your arms as you contemplated the long day you had ahead of yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think you would do?  
> As always, feedback appreciated, heck I honestly live for the comments. Oh, the hearts are nice too of course, I`m really grateful. Thank you guys so much! I`ve got plenty of action planned for the next chapter and I`m also quite eager to start building sexual tension. Not the lovey-dovey kind of course, but… well, you`ll see. Till next time~


	8. An Unwanted Tour of the Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the buffalo say to his son as he left for college?  
> Byson ;D

You didn`t remember falling asleep, but lately everything was a blur. You stirred for a moment, glancing around, noticing the thin rays of light coming from the blinds over the window in the far corner. Not entirely ready to get up, you turned over on your spot on the floor, curling up and falling back to sleep. When you awoke again, the lights at the window were more noticeable, but still you found yourself stifling a yawn and rolling over again. It wasn`t until the third time that the gravity of your situation settled in. Now a bit more conscious, you began to get up.

Surprisingly fear wasn`t the first thing you felt. Instead, rather calmly, you glanced around the room. There was no sign of anyone, the bed was empty, the closet open, the duffel bag gone. You then glanced at the washroom just to be sure, noticing that the door was wide open and the lights flicked off. So, you assumed Toby wasn`t here. But that window was.

Simply out of curiosity you got up and headed over to it, hesitantly drawing the blinds away. There was a small handle beside it, and ever so slowly you turned it, almost gasping as it easily opened. You could see yourself reaching on your tippy toes, one arm after the other as you`d hoist yourself through the tiny opening. You could practically picture yourself trembling as you held the railing, scanning the drop to the ground below before easing yourself down. But you could _not_ envision yourself surviving a moment on the ground below. There was no way an escape could be that easy, you knew that after the car incident. These psychopaths were too clever for that. If this window could be opened, it`s because he knew it could, and he didn`t expect it to help you.

A bit angry at how easily you gave up, you decided to head to the washroom instead. Perhaps after washing the sleep out of your eyes, you`d find it a lot easier to plan your escape. When you reached the mirror in the washroom, you expected to see a horrifying, bruised and battered being. Instead, you looked rather plain. Despite how skinny you were beginning to get, you seemed pretty okay. Yes, your hair was still in tatters, and your bruised cheek was doing no better, but all in all it wasn`t so bad.

For a moment you just stood in front of the mirror, toying with your hair, running your hands over sore muscles. You felt strange, not like your self. The reflection in the mirror didn`t look nor feel like a tormented and hunted hostage. And in a strange way that scared you. Quickly shaking the feeling off, you turned the tap on, once again appreciating the cleanliness of the washroom before washing the sleep out of your eyes. The stickiness in your mouth forced you to take some of the toothpaste you were surprised he had and squirt it onto your finger before rubbing it against your teeth. There was no way in hell you were going to stoop low enough to use his toothbrush, so your finger sufficed.

After a few lingering looks at the spotless bathtub, you once again considered the prospect of taking a shower. What would be the harm in it? Toby wasn`t here, and besides, thought you did not trust him, you didn`t expect him to barge in while you were in the shower. He honestly didn`t seem interested in that. Still, was it a stupid idea? Was it worth it?

You stared for a few more seconds before pulling off the single shirt you had, glancing one last time at the unlocked washroom door before hopping into the tub. The first few sprays of water were cold, but you didn`t flinch as you waited for it to heat up. The feeling of hot water against your shoulders was therapeutic in the best ways. So, for a few moments you stood there, enjoying the feeling as you watched the bandages around your thigh and finger get soggy. After a bit of searching you found a men`s coconut shampoo, and decided to use it. Admittedly the feeling of scrubbing shampoo into your hair with only nine fingers was pretty odd.

When you got out of this, would you ever get back to normal life again? Wouldn`t people ask questions. ‘Hey, what happened your hand?’ What would you tell them? ‘Oh, this psychopath cut it off with a fucking hatchet.’ It sounded pretty crappy. Having to relive the nightmare every time someone pointed it out. Still, you`d rather live to tell the stories than die.

After tip toeing out the bathtub you took a few more seconds searching around for a towel. Once you dried off, you put your clothes back on before exiting the washroom. Your sense of calmness dissipated the second you stepped out. Sitting right there on the bed with a sadistic grin was the clown from before, dressed in his typical black and white. A familiar feeling of dread began to collect in your stomach, but you quietly pushed past it, closing the bathroom door behind you as you looked up at him.

“You look a lot better than last I saw ya doll.” The clown sat with one leg over the other, his arms propping him up on either side as he smiled that charming smile.

Just act cool, stay calm, this is no big deal.

“Thank you….” Was your brief reply.

“Come `ere,” he patted the space beside him, and you once again noticed the claws he had for nails, “Sit with you ole pal Jack.”

Yeah, no thanks.

You hesitated for a moment, but then decided you might as well oblige. He`d make you if you didn`t, and Toby wasn`t here to protect you. Speaking of Toby, didn`t he say you`d be safe in this room from the others. So much for that. At least Jack wasn`t so bad… right? At least he hadn`t tried to kill you yet, which was more than you could say for the likes of Jeff.

“Sure thing _pal._ ” You decided a little sarcasm wouldn`t hurt and so you walked over to him, sitting down with a good amount of distance between you. As expected, he closed the distance by scooting closer.

“You smell like Toby.” He commented.

“Same shampoo.” You mumbled.

“Ah, I never bother with such things.” He concluded before smiling once again, “I`ve got great news!”

You gulped at what that could entail but kept your cool regardless.

“Everyone`s out hunting!” he exclaimed, “Except for ole EJ, but don`t ya worry doll, he`s keepin` busy in the cellars.”

Hunting? Why do you feel he`s not referring to animals?

“So here`s your chance.” He continued, still sounding as excited as before, “You have roughly two hours, better get a move on.”

You blinked at him. Was the clown for real? Was everyone really gone? In which case… why was he helping you? Did his intentions even matter though? If there was a chance to escape than you should take it. Imagine all the pain you could evade if you got out now. Besides, sticking around would only result in you dying. This was your shot!

You had almost opened the door when intuition made you stop. From the corner of your eye you could see his excited grin. He always seemed so happy, but there was something else, something sinister behind it. Maybe it was stupid to waste your chance, but the whole situation felt too strange.

“I think I`ll pass…” you stated, taking a few steps away from the door before turning to the clown, folding your arms over your chest.

“Really?” He frowned once again, but looked almost concerned, and that made you doubt once again. Maybe he was honestly trying to help you. “It`s a one-time deal though hun, don`t expect me to come back again.” And there it was, the slight insisting in his tone that confirmed your doubt.

“Don`t worry, I think I`ll be fine here.” You replied casually, watching him impatiently tap his claws against the mattress.

“I thought you wanted to escape doll.” His frown deepened.

“Guess not.” You shrugged, not sure whether to be amused or concerned about his growing irritation.

“Alright… fine.” His smile slowly returned, “You can stay in here…. with _me_.”

Well fuck.

“We can play a game!” he declared, standing up with a little jump. Every step he took towards you led into you taking one backwards. In only a few seconds you felt the door behind you, the clown leering in front of you, clawed hands clenching and unclenching.

“I`ll let you pick.” He decided as he moved closer, “We can play one of my favourite games! Or, we could try a more… adult game. Thoughts?”

Why you ever acted so calm in front of this freak would haunt you for eternity. Deciding never to trust any of them again, you quickly responded by shoving him away. Obviously, he didn`t budge, instead you yelped as he grabbed your legs out from under you, holding them up as your head collided with the floor.

“Adult game it is!” he lowered himself till he was kneeling in front of you. “You won`t need these though.” He tightened his grip on one of your legs, and you couldn`t help but scream as you felt your limbs straining under the pressure. “Oh, hold on, hold on.” He said as he released your legs, and you sighed in relief. In a puff of smoke he disappeared, and you struggled to get your breathing in check when he returned again.

With a goddamn sledgehammer in his hand.

“We keep this downstairs.” He sounded so giddy as he spoke, the fact that he was enjoying it made you sick. “I`ve always wanted to use it.”

You scrambled onto your feet instantly, but cried out as he pushed you down easily. Obviously, you weren`t going to lie still and give him a good shot, so with a few pathetic pleads you continued to struggle and move around. Eventually he grew tired of it and you winced as his clawed hands found purchase in your hair. He tugged your head close to him before easily slamming it against the door with enough force to leave you dizzy. This time as you fell to the floor, you couldn`t find the willpower to get up.

“Y`know doll…” he leaned on the handle of the sledgehammer, looking down at you with amusement, “they usually put somethin` in your mouth to keep you from biting your tongue off when they do this. But hey, what`s the fun in that?”

You were pretty sure you were crying as you weakly squirmed on the floor, watching him with blurry eyes as he gently tapped the sledgehammer against your ankle before lifting it up.

“Jack no!” you were pleading, squirming weakly.

“It`ll only hurt for a second hun.”

How would you explain this once you escaped? ‘Hey what happened to your legs?’, ‘Oh, a sadistic demon clown broke them with a sledgehammer.’ You couldn`t help but close your eyes tightly as he brought the hammer down. The pain never hit you though, and after a second you opened your eyes to see him with the sledgehammer slung over his shoulder, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Y`know, we don`t need to break your legs.” He spoke way too casually for the situation you were in, “If your willing to be obedient and all? Ah, who am I kidding. You wouldn`t listen to my simple escape advice, no way you`d be so obedient.”

God, you hated him.

“I`ll leave!” you managed to say, once again finding the strength to crawl towards the door, struggling to stand up. A brief touch to the back of your head revealed blood from where he had slammed you against the door. These monsters were going to be the end of you.

“No, no, we can`t have that.” He faked disappointment, “You`re far too comfortable here, aren`t ya doll?”

You didn`t say anything, instead focusing your attention on sloppily unlocking the door. He didn`t stop you and with a heavy heart you managed to open it, relaxing a bit when you noticed the hallway was empty. You were 100% sure that Jack was lying about everyone being out, and so the prospect of being outside terrified you. Why the clown wanted you to leave though was beyond you. Perhaps he thought of it as some sick joke, perhaps he`d enjoy watching you struggle to survive the psychopaths beyond the room.

But what about that boss person Toby mentioned? Didn`t Jack work for him too? Surely, they wanted you alive. One glance behind you showed that the clown could care less about what anyone wanted. He was far too set on enjoying himself, and with a heavy heart you watched as the door slammed shut.

You stared at it for a second before trying the knob. It was locked. You were stuck out here.

Alright, this wouldn`t be so bad. No one else seemed to know you were out here. All you had to do was lie low, find somewhere to hide until Toby found you. But who knows how long that would take? Besides you didn`t know the mansion like they did. Finding a hiding spot might lead you right to them. Either way, you couldn`t stay out in this hallway for everyone to see.

Keeping quiet, you began to take small, slow steps down the hall. Every bloodstain that you had noticed from earlier seemed to be more terrifying now. Did they belong to others like you? People that were forced out into the open? People that died?

You passed the staircase when you heard soft chatter from below. Someone was definitely home, and for a moment you lingered in hopes it would be Toby. All you recognized was a feminine voice, and so you carried on. You didn`t remember meeting or hearing about a woman in the house, and so you added another to your ever-growing list of psychopaths that inhabited the mansion. Perhaps she isn`t a psychopath though. Perhaps she`s a hostage, like you? You doubted it, she sounded far too calm.

Too your dismay the hallway seemed to end on either side, the only way out was either through one of the doors or down the stairs. The stairs most certainly wasn`t an option, so instead you began hovering near each door, listening in to see if anyone was inside. Every room appeared  to be silent, which didn`t make you feel any better. After stalling a while longer, you found yourself hurrying to pick a door when you heard the stairs begin to creak.

Glancing around drastically you tiptoed to the furthest room down the hall, leaning against it for a few extra seconds in case you`d hear something you hadn`t heard before. Obviously, you heard nothing, and so with a silent prayer you tried the knob, both horrified and relieved at the fact that it opened. Slipping in quietly, you closed the door, leaning your body against it as you stared at the wooden frame. You weren`t mentally prepared to turn around, you weren`t ready to see who you had walked in on.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and so you finally found the strength to turn around. It was a bedroom. A lot dirtier than Toby`s, but also fairly different. The mattress in the corner was dirtier and actually had dark stains all over it, but rather than being on the floor it stood on a flimsy wooden bedframe. How anyone managed to sleep on it was beyond you. Secondly there was a radio in one corner, tattered posters lining the walls, and a bunch of clothing and magazines strewn over the floor. Curiously you wandered towards the door you assumed was the washroom, opening it to see if it was perhaps cleaner. Instead it was equally disgusting.

Next you went over to the only window in the room, wondering if it would open like the one in Toby`s room. It didn`t. Alright then, you were pretty much stuck here until the hallway was safe. But when would that be? How would you know it`s clear? And besides, this room was clearly being used. Wouldn`t the owner be back soon?

As if on cue the door opened.

Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was sheer luck, but in a second you were across the room, rolling under the bed as you heard someone step into the room. You clasped one hand over you mouth to silence your breathing while your eyes remained glued on the boots by the door. You watched as the person closed the door, now noticing that he wasn`t alone. Behind him, half on her knees was a young woman in a scantly clad dress. You caught a brief glimpse of her face as she tried to crawl away from him, taking note of the mascara that was running down her tear-ridden face. The man seemed to have a tight grip on her dress and dragged her towards the bed, kicking magazines and clothes out of his way. One of the magazines tumbled under the bed and you closed your eyes as you expected him to notice you. Instead, you heard something sink into the mattress, then saw the girl be forced onto her knees in front of the bed, the mans legs on either side of her. You were mere inches away from her torso, but neither of them seemed to notice.

“What`s wrong bitch?” you recognized Jeff`s raspy voice anywhere, “You said you liked danger?” The girl seemed to cry as he held her still, “Aw, why`re you crying? What happened to all that talk from earlier? Didn`t you say murder turned you on? That you wanted to fuck a killer?”

“I-I th-thought we were roleplaying.” She sobbed and stuttered, the desperation clear in her voice. "I thought you were ju-just one of those emo gu-guys.”

“Stop fucking stuttering.” You heard a sharp noise, and winced at the pain you imagined the woman was going through. “I hate stutterers.” Jeff continued, “Just as I hate lying, good-for-nothing strippers.”

Strippers? How the fuck did his disfigured ass get in a strip club? Well, you doubted he got this girl here the legal way. Speaking of which, what was he going to do to her? Actually, you had a few ideas. The real question was, what were you going to do about it? You didn`t have the heart to sit around and do nothing, but you also didn`t want to reveal yourself and suffer the same faith as her.

“Stop squirming.” His voice lowered for a second and you saw how the woman`s body grew still with the exception of a faint tremble.

“Please don`t kill me.” She whispered and you heard another sharp noise followed by a desperate cry from her.

“Shut the fuck up.” He was clearly getting impatient and the woman struggled to obey. “There, that`s better. Now, come here, I wanna make a few modifications before we get started.”

You heard her scream, her struggling doubling as she made desperate pleads. You watched the clasps of her dress give way, loosening till they pooled at her waist. The next thing you heard though made your gut wrench. You heard a sickening guttural noise followed by an inhumane, bubbling scream. God, you couldn`t take this, you simply couldn`t. Quietly, clenching your teeth to keep yourself from crying, you crawled backwards till you were out from under the bed behind them. Jeff didn`t notice as you moved behind him, and you almost felt like giving up and hiding once again when you saw the woman. Despite her half nakedness, she had a large gash on one side of her face, reaching from her lips to her ear. He was giving her his smile, and you saw the pain in her eyes as he stuck the blade in her mouth again, preparing to slash through the other half of her face.

Without thinking things through you tackled him, wrapping your arm around his throat, and tightening it with your other hand, recreating one of the chokeholds you`d see on TV. He got up instantly, dropping the knife and sinking his nails into your forearms. You wanted to scream at the pain but instead you only tightened your grip, holding on as he stumbled back into a wall, slamming you against it. He was pretty smart, and after slamming you against the wall a few more times you couldn`t help but let go.

In a second you were on the floor watching him gasp for air before he turned to glare at you. If looks could kill you`d be 6 feet under by now.

“You`re fucking dead.” He sneered, turning to get the knife he dropped. You followed his gaze and sighed a breath of relief when you saw the stripper girl holding her dress up with one hand, and the knife with the other, pointing it towards him. She looked like a demon with the skin around her face strewn each and every way. It was sickening, she was sickening, but you were just glad she was on your team.

“Kill him.” Your voice strained at the words, unable to believe you were honestly trying to kill a person. No, nevermind, Jeff doesn`t qualify a person. He`s a monster, and monsters deserve to die. “Kill him!” you yelled this time, and the girl seemed to understand the desperation in your tone. She charged at him, driving the knife straight into his stomach before stumbling back.

There was no sense of victory as the psychopath easily slipped the knife out, grabbing the handle before turning to you. Wow… you practically handed the killer a knife. Why the hell do these freaks not die? Instead of going for you, he went for the other girl. She scrambled to get away but he was too fast, easily grabbing her by her forearm and tugging her towards you. For some reason you couldn’t find the strength to move, and so you remained absolutely still as he shoved her onto her knees in front of you. She was crying at this point, and you didn`t know what to do about it. He had his fist clenched in her hair, and you watched as he lowered the knife to her throat and slit it with one clean swipe.

To your horror her blood squirted all over you, the disgust and horror of it kept you frozen, unable to scream, unable to do anything. He released her, and she fell onto her side, a strange gurgling noise in her throat.

Oh god, oh god, how the hell do you get out of this nightmare.

“Tell me, did you enjoy being the hero?” he asked, his voice grating as he now reached for you. You didn`t even bother to struggle, still too shaken up as he dragged you up by the hem of your sweater. He held you up, forcing you on your tippy toes so you were at eye level with him. Naturally his eyes were terrifying, but now, in the midst of so much bloodshed you could really see the psychopath behind them. They were dark and bloodshot, insane and on-edge, just like his teetering smile.

“Look at you…” he was whispering now, which only seemed to scare you more, “Covered in that whore`s blood.” He pulled you closer, his tongue coming out to lick a disgusting trail up your cheek. You were about ready to puke now, too bad there was nothing in your stomach to throw up. “I`ll admit… seeing you be all brave, seeing you try to stop me like that, seeing you deadest on killing me… was fucking sexy.”

You had no words. How the hell do you deal with someone so fucking demented. The fear of what could happen next was the only thing to shake you out of your trance. The things you had seen on this little excursion were things no one should have to see, yet now your only choice was to cope.

“You can`t kill me…” your voice sounded so defeated at that moment, “You`re not allowed to…”

“Trust me _princess,_ you`re gonna wish I could.” He sneered and at that moment you knew you were in for one hell of a night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wasn`t going to put any of the Jeffs room stuff in initially, but then I figured HEY, IT`S A FUCKING HORROR STORY! IT SHOULD BE SICK AND DEMENTED! So yeah...   
> Anyways, comment away. Was it any good? Personally I felt pretty sick writing about it, but I don`t know if it has the same effect when reading. So let me know what I can improve on?


	9. Kiss and Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to stir the pot o.o

“No!” you were screaming, your fists slamming against his chest in that desperate way you were accustomed to. It seemed not a single day would pass without you fighting and crying one way or another. The monster had one fist clenching your hair, pulling at the strands as he buried your head into the mattress. You were bent over, his hips resting against your ass, and yes, you knew exactly what that entailed. Cringing at the very thought, you tried to focus your energy on fighting back. But it was pretty difficult to move without rubbing him the wrong way. God, it was all so awkward, disgusting and disturbing too. Where was the exit? Where was fucking Toby when you needed him? Who knows how long he`d take to return. It would be wiser not to rely on him as a rescue.

So, you were on your own against this immortal, unkillable, perverted, psychopath. The odds weren`t looking too good.

“Stop, please stop!” you hissed the words out, his grip only tightening on your hair. Even though you were pleading, your body was doing anything but. Your arm quickly snapped to the side, your elbow hitting him straight in the jaw. He grunted but only returned the gesture by grabbing that arm and holding it against your back. He began to twist the arm, forcing it to form an impossible angle as he pushed it further and further. You began to feel your bones craning under the pressure, your eyes widening as you once again screamed for him to stop. He did. Holding it right on the verge of breaking as you began to feel tears well up in your eyes.

You honestly just wanted to go home, to wake up from this awful nightmare. This was far too much. The pain, the fear, this constant sensation of fight or flight was killing you.

“Fucking shut up.” He ordered, “No ones coming for you bitch.”

He was right, a screaming girl would be no surprise in this place. Even if Toby was in earshot, he wouldn`t come running if he heard some girl crying for help.

“Toby help me!” you tried screaming that instead, your voice louder than it ever was on the off chance he would hear. Jeff`s eyes widened for a split second before narrowing angrily. His grip on your arm tightened as he pushed it past its limits, the sharp snap of breaking bones clicked in your head before your mind whitened with searing hot pain. You were pretty sure _that_ was the loudest you had ever screamed. On the bright side you began to feel your consciousness slipping. At least you wouldn`t be awake for whatever he did next, and in itself that was a little comforting.

Your head lolled back into the mattress, your arms and legs falling limply as everything went black. Even with your sight gone, for a moment you could still hear him shuffling behind you, you could feel his hands holding you up, moving slowly against your sides. You`d have cringed if you could.

-

You weren`t sure how much time had passed, but when you opened your eyes again you were in a different place. You were lying on a table of sorts, a medical table by the looks of it. A hospital? Had the police arrived? Were you safe again?

No, probably not, you knew better than to fall for that.

“Good afternoon.”

Slowly you moved your head towards the voice, acknowledging a man who stood by the table. He looked as average as could be, dressed in a dark trench coat with both hands working on a layer of bandages across your arm. Was he a doctor of sorts? You recalled breaking your arm, though at the moment you couldn`t feel any pain. As a matter of fact, you couldn`t feel anything at all.

Your mouth opened but nothing came out, your lips struggling to form coherent words. Deciding to take a moment to collect your wits, you instead turned your attention back to the stranger. It was too dark to see his face, far too dark for any doctor to be fixing your arm either. But he seemed to be doing just fine despite the lack of light. From the little you could see you were able to recognize the grayish tint of his skin as well as the noticeably brown hair that adorned his head. He looked fairly young, probably early 20`s if you had to fathom a guess. Then again everyone here looked surprisingly young.

He was probably one of them. One of those monsters.

You tried talking again, your words slurring a bit as you managed to get them out, “What happened?” you decided to ask. It was a better question than ‘who are you’, considering you already had a few ideas and a name wasn`t going to exactly help. It was way better than ‘where am I’since you were probably still in the hell house _they_ lived in.

“You broke your arm.” He spoke in a monotone.

_You_ broke your arm? Clearly the good doctor was misinformed. It was that fucking psychopath that broke your arm. Hopefully, that was all he had done… you couldn`t really tell if anything else had happened. The doctor guy must have given you a load of painkillers because you honestly couldn`t feel anything.

“Did anything else happen?” you decided to try your luck.

“I don`t know.” He answered, still unfazed, “Would you like me to check?”

“N-no.” you decided you`d rather take your chances than have this stranger poking around down there. God, this was all so embarrassing.

“Done?” a new voice asked, and you once again turned to the other side to see a comfortingly familiar man approaching. Toby. Thank God. You never thought you`d be so relieved to see that psychopath. A strange, little, emotional part of you wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and cry. He was safe and in all honesty, you were beginning to feel weak.

 “Yeah, pretty much.” The doctor guy pulled away from you, turning his attention to some counter as he began rinsing through tools. His face turned to the side for a moment and you followed it to see another metal table standing against the wall. There was a man on it, his arms and legs strapped down. There was a cloth over his eyes and mouth holding his head down to the table. At first, you assumed he was dead, his stomach was cut open and oozing all sorts of liquids that would have made you puke any other day. However, you noticed him faintly twitching and you quickly turned your head away, not able to look anymore.

And you thought you had it bad.

“I changed her other bandages too.” The doctor guy added, clearing his throat and turning his attention back to Toby. “Her arm isn`t broken, just a little bone, it`ll heal up.”

“Th-thanks Jack.” Toby turned to you now, his warm brown eyes a relaxing sight despite the lack of emotion behind them. Was he angry? Did he think you escaped? Did he know it was the clown that forced you out? Honestly, it was you who should be angry at him! The bastard promised his room would be a safe haven, he was the real liar! Neither of you said anything as he moved towards you, hooking one arm under your legs and the other under your arms as he hoisted you up easily. You knew better than to complain or try to exert your womanly independence, and so you just laid there in his arms as began to turn away from the basement-like room, towards the door that stood a few meters away.

“How`s Jeff?” the doctor asked before Toby made it to the exit.

“Alive.” Was his short response as he opened the door and exited into the hallway. You instantly noticed the change in atmosphere. While the room smelt and felt like cold metal and misery, the hallway felt a bit more earthy and warm. Still, you were pretty sure that man on the table would haunt you for a good while no matter where you went.

Toby was being extra careful as he began to take you up the stairs and you had to remind yourself it was due to a dutiful obligation and not because he cared about your wellbeing. Still, it didn`t stop you from burying your face in his hoodie, breathing in his smoky scent as you closed your eyes for a mere moment. His arms were safe, for now at least.

When you opened your eyes again you were back in his room, the door softly closing before he eased you onto the bed. He looked you up and down analytically.

“Do you n-need anything?” he asked, his voice as cold as ever.

You could write him an entire list. There were lots of things you needed, you needed to go home, a frappuccino, your Netflix account, a few throw pillows, fucking Chinese food, maybe even a few friends needed to come over. You needed an end to this nightmare.

And that was when it happened.

You had an idea. A disgusting, unethical, absolutely awful idea. You were a survivor, but every time you suffered through another day you would be reminded of the inevitable end. You didn`t want to die at the end. You just needed some peace of mind, some guarantee that all this struggling wouldn`t result in a morbid death. You needed to make this man care about you, you needed to make your life important to him.

It was actually a pretty sick idea you had stirring. But you had seen it work countless of times, and besides, you were a woman after all. What was between your legs made for a pretty great weapon. Once again you cringed at the very thought, what was wrong with you. But still, sexual attraction had stopped Jeff from killing you. But were you willing to go that far? Was it worth your life?

Eh, sure it was.

You wanted to live so badly, anything and everything was worth it if in only a few months you could return to normalcy. A few weeks of hell for an eternity of everyday life, it was worth it. And hey, if this was a horrible idea, you could always blame the painkillers.

“Come here.” You patted the bed, and he raised an eyebrow, watching you for a moment before moving towards the bed.

It`s not like he was bad looking or anything, quite the contrary actually. Maybe if you had met under other circumstances and he wasn`t a murderous psychopath you would have probably fallen for him. Who wouldn`t? He was built like an athlete, tall and lean in all the perfect places, with soft, warm features that gave off this secure, homey aura. You could definitely see him as a family man if circumstances were different.

“What happened with Jeff?” you asked rather calmly.

“I t-took care of it.” He replied with equal calmness, his gaze moving away from you and onto the mattress instead. He was thinking.

“I… um, well I…” now this was the awkward part, “I lost consciousness… did he… um, you know…”

“Fuck you?” he said it bluntly and you forced yourself to keep a straight face as you nodded, “No, he wa-wanted you to be c-conscious f-for that.”

Your hatred for Jeff only increased. What a fucking lunatic. Another good thing about Toby you assumed, at least he didn`t treat this ‘murder-thing’ like a hobby to enjoy. No, he didn`t. While the others pushed boundaries, looking for more fun ways to execute and torment their victims, Toby seemed to do with cold seriousness. Perhaps you hadn`t see his more enthusiastic side, but you doubted he had one. He never took any joy in what he did, whether it be killing, or something as mundane as walking through the woods. He quite literally looked and acted as if he was dead inside.

Yeah, he wasn`t as bad as the others. Another reason why you should take this chance, you were so close anyways.

Carefully you leaned towards him, waiting for him to push you away, to get up and leave, but instead, he just sat there. You placed your hand on his forearm and he didn`t do anything as you traced the material of his jacket up his arm and to his shoulders. He watched a little more intently but didn`t do or say anything. You found yourself swallowing your nerves and fears, your hand trembling against his shoulder as you tried to convince yourself to move further, to touch his face, to push up and kiss him or something. But no, you couldn`t do it.

His eyes lingered on your hand as you pulled away, his expression conveying an almost childlike curiosity. The wheels in your head began to turn again. He seemed legitimately intrigued with your intentions. Was it possible that he had never been touched by a woman before? Surely he must have had a few experiences… but then again considering his career it wasn`t too insane to assume he had never done anything. In that case… maybe just maybe…

You placed your hand on his face this time, and he did flinch for a mere second but he didn`t move away. His skin was cold but surprisingly smooth as you eased your fingertips into his hair, pulling him down towards you. He hesitated but you decided to close the distance as you leaned up and kissed him. There were no fireworks, no feeling of warmth, or any of the other sappy things you`d expect from a kiss. As a matter of fact the act was completely drained of all romance, instead it was cold and businesslike, at the very least it lingered when he finally pulled away.

“Hmm…” was all he said as he turned his eyes back to you, eyes that had noticeably darkened. Holy shit, you were stirring the pot, weren`t you? The kiss hadn`t done much for you, but it had surely done a fair bit for him. Wait a second, this was actually a pretty terrible idea. You were provoking him, if he wanted to do something to you, you would be powerless to stop him. The idea though was you would let him, that you`d encourage it. But now you were beginning to worry, you were beginning to feel regret. If you wanted to stop, he probably wouldn`t, would he? Welp, better see it through to the end in that case.

Forcing a deep breath, you tossed away all feelings of dignity and shame, instead pretending you were one of those seductive, little minxes you`d see in almost every porno movie (not that you watched any, but hey, you could make an educated guess). After all, this was all for the sake of survival.

It was Toby that leaned in this time, and instinctively you backed up a bit on the bed, using your elbows to prop yourself as he kissed you. It was slow and sloppy, he clearly wasn`t experienced as he experimented. At the very least he was learning, his own body moving over yours as he began to follow your lead. Channeling your inner pornstar, you deepened the kiss, licking and nibbling on his lips. It wasn`t like you were all that experienced either, but he didn`t seem to know or care. I mean sure you had dabbled here and there, but it wasn`t like you were some sex goddess.

You felt his hands trail your shirt up, his fingers resting on your bare hips as he held you down. You were beginning to cross a dangerous line and you weren`t sure just how far you were willing to go. Then again you didn`t know if he cared about your personal limits.

“St-stop.” You whispered the words, your hand coming to pull his off your hip. Surprisingly he did, letting you go in every sense of the word as he stood up. Taking a deep breath, you sat up only to back down when you saw the look in his eye.

“Don`t _ever_ do that again." He whispered back and for a moment you thought he was referring to telling him to stop. But no, that wasn`t what he meant. He was talking about kissing him. But hey, the bastard kissed you back. It wasn`t like you were the one holding him down and experimenting. He began to move away but then stopped, turning back to you. His eyes-which were now insanely dark- glanced thoughtfully between the mattress and you.

“Why`d you do th-that?” he asked, moving closer and once again pushing you back down on the bed. You didn`t fight back as he eased himself over you again, you weren`t necessarily scared.

Why`d you do that? Well the answer was simple. You figured by seducing him you could save yourself from an untimely death. But were you going to tell him that? Nope. He had to think you actually wanted him, that he meant something. At least you assumed he would. Ah, what a messy game this was going to be.

“I don`t know.” You managed to say, quite literally batting your eyelashes at him, “You`re just so safe, so warm, I just… I don`t know.”

His eyes narrowed but you only stared back innocently. He leaned in again, this time initiating the kiss and you kissed back. This one was a bit better than the first, he was a quick learner. You decided to amp it up a little, wrapping one fist around his jacket to pull him in closer. Holy shit did he just growl? You actually felt his teeth against your lips again before he pulled away.

“This isn`t how y-you`re sup-supposed to act.” He sounded the tiniest bit flustered. He was right though, this wasn`t how the victim was supposed to act. But then again you weren`t planning on staying the victim for long.

“I-

He cut you off by kissing you again, he really seemed into it too.

“It mu-must be the painkillers.” He concluded, pulling away after what felt like a few minutes. “H-hungry, you m-m-must be hungry?” You never got a chance to answer as he quickly walked away, opening the door before pausing for a moment. It seemed as if he wanted to say something more but instead he quickly left, closing the door behind him.

You didn`t bother getting up, instead, you laid there on the bed mulling over your own thoughts. That actually wasn`t so bad, and he seemed surprisingly vulnerable. You could probably get him addicted to you, you could make him want to keep you safe and alive. That would give you more time to find a way to escape.

And also… though you`d never admit it to anyone, deep down, he wasn`t so bad. Now there was no way, absolutely no way you would ever condone or allow a serial killer like him into your life. But this wasn`t some sappy little crush, you didn`t like him and you knew you never would. All you were saying was that kissing him wasn`t the worst thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`ve always noticed how horror protagonists usually have a strong moral compass. I thought it be fun to try it the other way around. I mean personally if I was in her situation I would use every tool in my disposal to survive. Sure its not moral, but its definitely smart. (Also I was getting impatient and wanted to nudge them along T-T)


	10. A Regrettable Excursion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did the scarecrow win an award?  
> Because he was out-standing in his field~

Toby sat on the bed while you lazed against the wall, a plate of toast in your lap as you slowly munched on it. There was a glass of cool water too and you weren`t shy about downing it either. He only watched you from where he sat, analytically almost, not that you minded. As a matter of fact, you were feeling pretty bold, meeting his gaze head on without any hesitation. It wasn`t until you had finished that you cleared your throat to speak, nudging the plate away from yourself.

“Thank you,” you offered.

He hummed in response.

“Something on your mind?” you tried to act casual, as if having a conversation with your kidnapper was completely normal. To be honest it was beginning to feel very normal. You smoothly stood up, walking over to him with a sway in your step. Now at his side, you paused, easing yourself onto the bed so you were shoulder to shoulder.

“Yeah…” he replied, his gaze once again boring into your own, “thinking about things I`ve never th-thought about.”

Well, that sounded quite risqué, and so you raised an intrigued eyebrow.

“You look good in my shirt,” was all he decided to say.

There really wasn`t much of a shirt left to be honest, most of it was bloody and torn from all the abuse you had been put through. But considering his line of work, he was probably into that stuff. Geez, you were really overthinking this now. Maybe getting all slutty wasn`t the perfect plan right now. You should balance it out a little, try and connect emotionally too. You wanted him to fall in love- not lust, after all.

“What happened to you?” you asked calmly, trying to force your voice to sound almost soothing as you placed a careful hand on his bare arm. You could practically feel the power behind those arms, the monster behind the exterior. “Why are you like this?”

“J-just unlucky…” his gaze fell to his lap, his expression unreadable.

“You don`t seem all that bad to me,” you continued, and for the most part it was true. “You`re kind.” To an extent. “You saved me.” But I`m here because of you. “You protected me.” But you`ve hurt me too, you`ve hurt me so much. “A man like you doesn`t belong in a place like this.” But you`re not a man, are you? “I want to know why you`re doing these things when you clearly don`t want to.”

His gaze remained locked on his jeans as he exhaled a soft sigh.

“I don`t know w-why me,” he began to explain, “Was a little odd as a kid, but lots of kids are o-odd. The boss came after me though, after my sister died, he was h-haunting me. I`d see his face everywhere, stalking me, taunting me. I don`t know… j-just cracked one day, stopped fi-fighting it. Killed someone that day, started a fire, ran away. Loyal servant ever since…”

“Why don`t you just leave this place?”

“I can`t.”

Why don`t we leave together, was what you wanted to suggest. Maybe coax him into a little plan. But it was too early for that. Still, you decided to archive that idea into your mind for later use. Once you had him under your ‘spell’ for lack of better word, you would bring up that idea, maybe then you could finally escape the nightmare. But for the time being you needed to delve deeper, you needed to make the man feel vulnerable, you needed him to open up to you.

“Do you miss normal life?” you asked softly, ever so subtly easing your head against his shoulder.

“No, normal life was n-ne-never anything great,” there was definitely a story there.

“You`re so young,” you said, going off of what you assumed his current age was. “You had a whole life ahead of you, it would have gotten better.”

He didn`t say anything and you found yourself honestly wanting to comfort him as you smoothed your hand over his shoulder in an assuring manner.

“You need to stop touching me,” he said quietly.

“You don`t like it?”

“I like it a little too much,” he answered, suddenly standing up. “You c-can`t keep wearing that, let`s get you some real clothes.”

Now it was your turn to blink at him as he moved to the closet, pulling out another one of his shirts before tossing it your way. “Put that on.”

He had his back turned to you as he continued to rummage through the closet, and even though the washroom was only a short walk away, you decided to simply strip off the bloodied shirt in favor for the new one. Your body didn`t feel any cleaner, but the unsullied fabric was far more breathable. It was a bit longer than the last one, comfortably reaching your knees. Turning your attention back to Toby, you noticed the half-second of surprise in his eyes as he noticed you were changed.

“Come,” he shoved something into his pocket before holding the door open for you. This wasn`t like the time Jack had tried to force you out, instead, you felt absolutely no fear as you followed Toby out of the room. Trailing only a few steps behind him, you followed as he led you downstairs and into the large hall where the main door stood. You could taste freedom but knew better than to get ahead of yourself. He had mentioned something about getting proper clothes, perhaps he really meant it.

“Where are we going?” you asked as you stepped outside into the autumn woods. You instinctively sucked in a deep breath, feeling the cool, clean air enter your lungs. The grounds were littered with yellow and orange leaves, the trees barren and tall as ever. How long had you been in that house?

He didn`t answer your question as he shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping them there as he lazily walked out of the porch and into the field. You could have ran if you wanted, he wasn`t holding you or anything at all. He was also walking fairly ahead of you, you`d probably get a two-minute head start if you bolted now. But how far would you get before he caught you? Could you even outrun him? And it wasn`t like you knew which way to go. Fighting the urge to frown you lowered your gaze and followed behind him.

Your mind began to make assumptions as you neared the hood of a familiar car. Where in the world was he taking you? As if on cue he pulled out a pair of keys from his pocket, coming to stop at the side of the car as he inserted the key. In a minute the car was turned on, Toby gesturing for you to hop into the front before closing the door behind him. Not knowing what else to do you followed suit, tucking yourself into the passenger seat as he locked the doors and began to pull the car onto the path.

“Rules are simple,” the car came to a pause as he finally began speaking, “Don`t run. Don’t try to get o-other p-people to help you. If you signal them, I kill them and you lose the rest of your hand.” That threat hit a chord in you and you suddenly remembered how vicious the man could be.

“O-of course,” you didn`t mean to stutter but a bit of nervousness managed to seep into your voice.

“Just be good,” he added before turning back to the wheel. He didn`t start though, his eyes narrowing at the figure that stood in front of the car. You recognized the newcomers mask, the little voice in your head reminding you of the threats he had once made.

Toby rolled his eyes, turning the keys so the car quieted as he lowered the window.

“What?” there was no amusement in his voice.

“Where you goin`?” the other man was equally unamused, his voice a bit more grating, as aggressive as you remembered. Despite the mask, you could feel his gaze on you from beyond the windshield.

“I d-don`t answer to you, move.” Toby replied with equal hostility, which was surprising considering how indifferent he was to the masked man before.

“I saw Jeff,” the masked man continued, “he told me what you did for the little bitch. I don`t wanna believe it but you`re acting real fucking soft Toby.”

“I`m doing my job,” Toby`s voice was slightly calmer now, “Jeff`s a fucking animal, he`d have killed her.”

“And now?” the masked man sneered, his displeasure conveyed through his voice, “What`re you protecting her from now?”

“A little reward for good behaviour,” Toby mumbled the words, his voice seemed to have quietened significantly.

“You don`t need to ta-

The masked man was cut off as Toby turned the keys again, saying nothing as he instantly slammed his foot against the pedal. You couldn`t help but shriek as the car rammed straight into Tim, catching him under the tire as the car rumbled over his body before smoothly making its way down the path that led to the road. You couldn`t believe what you had seen, and with wild eyes you glanced at your driver to see him perfectly calm and collected. As if he hadn`t just ran over his accomplice.

“You killed him?!” you choked the words out, surprised that you felt so sick at the death of someone like Tim.

“If only it was that easy,” Toby sighed, and you then understood that the monsters here had nothing to fear. You vaguely remembered how a police officer had shot Toby, you remembered how he walked on like nothing had happened. Then there was the time you had watched that girl stab Jeff, but even then the killer preceded to shake it off. God, what were these things. Why would things like them even exist? What cruel deity decided unkillable psychopaths was a good idea?

The drive was short, and though you tried to memorize the way out of the woods you were unable to differentiate from one tree or another. With no notable markers you ended up giving up and staring out the window as the time rolled by. You vaguely recalled Toby humming throughout the entire ride, an unfamiliar tune that was stuck in your head at this point. You`d probably have gone nuts if the ride didn`t end only moments after, the car pulling up to a small, sketchy looking gas station.

So, it appeared civilization wasn`t too far. Then again, the drive was nearly twenty minutes, how long would a run be? Considering you even knew which way to go.

“R-remember the r-rules,” Toby reminded you as he pulled out the keys, coming over to your side and helping you out of the car. You say helping, but it was more like forcing as he firmly locked his hand around your wrist. You didn`t necessarily mind as he led you into the little store, your eyes landing immediately on the small, elderly Asian woman that sat behind the counter, her gaze trained on a crossword in front of her. She picked her head up for a moment to narrow her eyes at you and Toby before slumping back down to her crossword.

“Pick out whatever you like,” he told you, gesturing towards the shelf of tourist-like shirts and sweatpants. You gave him a curious look he didn`t return as he turned away from you and headed over to where they kept the drinks. You lingered for a moment, watching him begin to empty the fridge. Was that why you were here? A beer run? Made sense after all. Deciding you might as well make use of it, you headed towards the shelves, feeling a little normal as you rummaged through clothing.

Your first instinct was to get oversized everything, after all you wouldn`t want to provoke them. But then you remembered that for some godforsaken reason that was exactly what you wanted to do. Your survival depended on provoking Toby, and so with a guilty frown you picked out the smallest sizes, wondering how tight the shirt would look on you. Goddammit, this couldn`t be right. You held the extra small shirt up, your frown deepening at the little cartoon bear that sat on the logo, a small hat on its head. Yeah, nothing said ‘sex appeal’ like cartoon teddy bears. Rolling your eyes you grabbed a few other versions before taking equal time to criticize a pair of sweatpants.

Returning to the counter you dropped the hoard of clothing down, smiling apologetically at the cashier lady. Toby joined you shortly, placing a crate of beers on the counter, but holding the other one in his hand. The lady stood up now, mumbling something about too much alcohol as she began to work the cashier. She never got a chance though, both of you screaming as Toby suddenly slammed the beer crate into her head. It all happened so fast, the sickening, squishy sound of gore spilling onto the cold, tiled floors. You couldn`t help but cover your mouth, your eyes wide as Toby easily hoisted the crate up, not minding the bloody bits that stuck to it as he slowly walked around the counter. You couldn`t bare to look as he stood over the woman, ignoring her gurgling pleas as he brought the crate down on her head. Then again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

He didn`t bother picking up the crate after that, leaving it on the puddle that was her head as he calmly told you to grab your stuff. Instead, he picked up one of the other, cleaner crates, holding up a bag of other bottles as he headed out to the car as if nothing had happened. It took you a while before you could collect your sanity and follow him. Why were you still surprised? Shocked? Horrified? Surely by now, you should be used to it, you should expect it.

As you slipped into the car, you dropped the pile of clothing in your lap, your eyes trained on the floor as you couldn`t bare to look at him. Was that _thing_ really your best bet at survival? Did you honestly feel sympathy for it? Did its lips actually touch yours? How could you have let that happen? How could you have kissed a monster? Suddenly freedom didn`t sound all that worthwhile, the rolling in your stomach making the simple thought of being in Toby`s vicinity sound disgusting.

Now, back in the house, back in that little safe heaven of a washroom you found yourself glaring at your reflection. You couldn`t find it in yourself to pull on that tight little shirt and flaunt around. Instead you kept on the baggy shirt he had given you, deciding to at least pull on the sweat pants. He didn`t deserve your affection, and now you were just trying to figure out what the plan was. Should you power through? Grit your teeth and put up with him for the sake of survival? Or should you perhaps put together a different plan altogether. You knew where he kept his car keys, you knew where he kept his axes, you knew he wouldn`t stay in this room forever.

You could probably escape.

Your train of thought was cut off by a gentle tap at the door. With a heavy exhale you opened it, briefly looking up at him before walking right past.

“D-did I do something wrong?” he blurted it out immediately and for a small second you wanted to whip around and scream at him. Did he do something wrong? Was the man utterly insane? Did he not understand the gravity of his actions? Of course, he didn`t. He was a fucking psychopath.

“Just a `lil sick,” you lied bitterly, knowing all too well where lashing out would get you.

He examined you for a moment before moving far too close, his hand roughly grabbing your jaw and holding it up to him. You felt his fingernails dig into your skin but you didn`t get a chance to complain as he kissed you. It was a huge improvement from the last one you shared, but it was fairly difficult to enjoy considering just how sickened you were by the man at the moment.

You wanted to deny him, to pull away and grumble a ‘no’, but then you thought better. This was a good opportunity to get some control over him, he had initiated this himself after all. Also, a small part of you was afraid. Afraid that he`d force you if you didn`t comply, and if it came to that… well then, this entire relationship would be hell. You didn`t intend on becoming his victim, instead you had to get to the playing field of a lover, one that could manipulate him.

So, biting back the hatred you felt, you kissed him back, your hands tangling themselves in his dark hair. Just pretend it`s someone else. Think of some celebrity or something, fucking Tom Hardy, Chris Evans, Henry Cavil, anyone, just anyone else. He stepped back a bit, his arm wrapping around your waist as he pulled you down on the bed with him. In mere seconds he was on top of you, his legs on either side of your waist, holding you down with utmost ease. His breathing was fairly noticeable now, the steady rise and fall of his chest as he just looked down at you with those cold brown eyes. You stared back, wondering if he could see the bitterness behind your fake affection.

“You`re so small,” his voice was low, a little rough around the edges and strangely attractive. “I could break you so e-easily.”

Well, hopefully you won`t.

“You`re shaking,” he whispered, and you noticed you indeed were. Now a bit embarrassed you turned your face to the side, not quite able to look him in the eye. He didn`t seem to care though, his head slipping down to your exposed neck. His breath felt cool against your skin and you felt a shudder travel up your spine, making you stiffen as his lips barely brushed against the soft skin of your throat. Why were you mad at him again?

You continued to avoid eye contact as his lips ghosted down to your chest, the fabric of your shirt the only thing protecting you. Luckily, he didn`t linger, or else you`d probably end up doing something you`d regret. Instead, he continued his little exploration, his cold hands easing around your hips and holding you still as he nipped at your side, making you squirm in surprise. Geez, had he been watching porn or something? How`d he go from clueless, never-kissed-a-girl-before to a completely in control tease? Was he playing off instincts? Because damn, his instincts were on a whole different level if so.

You bit your lip to stop yourself from making any embarrassing noises as his mouth trailed down your navel to- Well fuck. You squealed in surprise, deciding right then and there to draw the line. That was more than enough for one day. Struggling in his grasp, you broke away from his hands, sitting up and nudging him away with a little shove. He was chivalrous enough to not push forward, instead, he sat up too, a faint, amused smile on his face.

“Learning so much about women today,” he said with a certain, humorous tone that you couldn`t help but grimace at. You were lining up a smartass reply when a sharp, bang at the door caught your attention. Toby frowned, giving you a look that made you instantly scramble off the bed and off into a corner, anywhere you`d look a little less suspicious. With that done he stood up, running a hand through his hair before opening the door wide enough for you to see a familiar-looking, blonde boy. You were almost certain you had seen him before when his red eyes caught yours for a brief, unsettling second.

“W-what is it Ben?” Toby`s voice had returned to normal now, cold and casual.

“Boss is callin`, you won`t believe who showed up,” the boy grinned sharply, “Claire wants to make a trade!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun stuff, eh? I wouldn`t know.  
> Anyways, PLEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEE comment (shamelessly begging here), I`d love to hear what you think :3


	11. His Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It really sucks when you had the entire plot planned out, but by the time you start writing the next chapter you`ve totally forgotten everything you intended to do...   
> The point is I can`t remember what I intended to do with Claire, so time to wing it xD~

You were absolutely and utterly terrified as Toby and you followed the blonde boy, Ben, down the stairs. Claire showing up so soon wasn`t part of the plan. You needed more time with Toby. For now, you could only hope the little time you had with him was enough, but you doubted that. So, with a heavy heart, you began to ease yourself into the idea of dying. It wouldn`t be so bad. Everyone dies, it`s bound to happen. Doesn`t mean it`s the end though. Surely death isn`t the end. There`s probably an entire afterlife waiting for you, hopefully, heaven. Even if that isn`t real, maybe recreation will be. Yeah, past lives are totally a thing, maybe you`ll be born again. Maybe even that isn`t real, perhaps there`s nothing after death. But is that so bad? Eternal peace and quiet didn`t sound too awful. You wouldn`t care after all, you`d be too dead to care.

At the bottom of the stairs was the ominous lounge you had passed by so many times. It looked like a very old, dusty, Victorian style living room, fitted with large, torn red couches, and dark, cracked, wooden tables. Spread amongst the large, unkempt room were all the monsters you had come to know, all except for the oh-so-scary _boss_ you had heard so much about. However, taking account of all the killers you did recognize left you with more scary thoughts. Sure, you could convince yourself that dying isn`t the worst thing in the world, but had you considered how you`d die?

It would be long and painful. You recognized the murderous glee in Jeff’s eyes, along with other intentions that you couldn`t stomach at the moment. The clown was also there, leaning against a couch and grinning at you venomously. The masked and hooded duo were in the corner, their glares conveying their aggression. At least the doctor man seemed nonchalant enough, however, in the light, you found yourself disgusted at the goo that trickled down his empty sockets. Something about not judging people on their looks came to mind, but honestly, that was a little too much.

Then there was the elf boy, Ben, who cheerfully plopped down on the couch, looking like a boy eager to get on with the show. Your only sense of security was Toby, who stood right behind you as you shrunk back into him. You vaguely recalled how he`d talk about duty. Would he do his duty here too? Do nothing as his leader sentenced you to death? You were on the verge of breaking down when you swallowed your fears and tried to stand a little taller. You were dying tonight, no point in spending your last minutes on this earth as a weeping, trembling mess.

Finally, you turned your head to the center of the room, your eyes widening a little as you took in Claire`s bold form. Her blonde hair was a mess around her head, her brown eyes darting around as she failed to maintain an aura of confidence. She wore a ruffled, dirty little suit as if she was attending some business meeting. You stared at her for a while longer, but she didn`t look back, her eyes steadily trained on Jeff- who was now glaring back directly at her too. You suddenly felt yourself shudder, a shrill wind blew across the room, rustling some of the furniture as all the monsters took note of it.

“T-time to begin,” it was Toby that spoke, and it was no secret that he was the authority in the room right now. He gave you a little nudge and you took a few uneasy steps deeper into the living room. You were now only a meter away from the couch filled with killers (which was kind of humorous in a strange way).

“Tell him I-

“He`s listening.” Toby interrupted Claire as she began speaking. She quickly nodded at that, clearing her throat before beginning again.

“I…” she stiffened up for a moment, her gaze on the floor. “The emails will be sent to every police station in the U.S.  in an hour. I have a code that will stop it,” she held up her phone, giving it a little shake “so if you kill me right now… well, everyone knows your secrets. This email resets every day… so I have to type the code in every day or else. Yeah, that happens.”

“How scary,” Jeff grumbled sarcastically.

Claire swallowed, taking a step forward, “so here`s the deal. I don`t let this information get out, you leave me alone, I won`t tell anyone. You also have to let my friend go. Look, she has nothing to do with this, just let her go and I won`t ever let your secret out. I swear.”

For a brief second, you felt relieved, a smile cracking on your tired features. She made a pretty good case, you always knew Claire was smart, but wow, you were impressed. She had set up the perfect system. They couldn`t kill her, and now, they wouldn`t be able to kill you. Were those tears you were beginning to feel behind your eyes? Tears of joy hopefully!

The wind rustled again, and you faintly heard a staticky noise.

“D-does a-anyone else know?” Toby asked.

“No,” Claire said quickly, now looking a little relieved too. “Just me.”

“And the emails aren`t saved anywhere else?”

“No.”

The wind rustled one last time and Toby`s eyes distinctly darted towards Jeff, his head nodding slowly. It was then that Jeff shot to his feet, your eyes widening as he grabbed Claire by her face, his fingernails digging into the side of her head as he slammed the back of her head against the wall. She cried into his hand, her own nails scratching at his wrist for leverage. He didn`t give any, and you could only watch as Claire`s head was bashed into the wall once, twice, and thrice before she crumpled to the ground, leaving a bloodstain on the dry-wall. Something about that drew out a certain, almost maternal instinct in you as you rushed to her side, dropping to your knees as you pulled her head into your lap. It disgusted you a little, but you pressed your hand into the back of her head, trying to stop the bleeding.

Was it a good thing that she was still breathing? She must be in so much pain. Her breaths were like hisses, her eyes watery as she trembled in your arms. What about the emails? Didn`t they care? Wasn`t the entire point of catching her to delete the emails? Oh God, this was your fault wasn`t it? She would have stayed in hiding if you hadn`t been stupid enough to get caught. Even then, a small part of you felt warm and tender. To think your friend cared about you so much, so much so that she risked her life for you. Or perhaps, there was a different reason altogether.

Jeff ignored you as he leaned down and plucked the phone out of her pocket, tossing it to Ben who easily caught it. The blonde smirked, rolling his eyes as he typed into the phone. His eyes began to glow a sharper red as he continued to click and swipe, finally dropping the phone to the ground. “Done, talk about easy, gimme a real challenge next time won`t ya Jeff?”

Jeff scoffed in response, and you suddenly felt the atmosphere change as his gaze landed on you. You tried to ignore him, your eyes focusing on Claire`s pained form as you silently prayed that Toby would come a little closer.

“Now then,” it was Jack who spoke, the clown looking utterly pleased as he tilted his head ever so slightly. “Only one thing left to do.”

That was your cue to act.

Turning around, you sat there on your knees, looking up desperately at Toby. Your eyes were probably a little watery now too. Sure, death wasn`t so bad, but fuck that. You weren`t gonna die. Not today, definitely not today.

“Please…” you were pleading, but what choice did you have at this point. “We don`t deserve any of this. We didn`t do anything wrong. Don`t kill us.” How do you reason with a psychopath?

At least he looked conflicted, his features scrunching up in irritation as his gaze darted back and forth between you and the remaining monsters. Please, please, keep us safe. You weren`t asking for much, surely, he wasn`t ready to let you go? He`s a guy, right? He probably wants a fuckbuddy or something? Wow, how degrading. Is that what you`ve become? Eh, who cares, whatever it takes, desperate times call for desperate measures.

What horrified you was that he seemed to be looking more and more at his fellow killers and less at you. Quickly you got to your feet, whispering an apology to Claire before you hurried to Toby`s side.

“Toby please…” you drawled the word out, your face inches away from his as you leaned into him. Surely this would click into his hopefully stereotypical male brain? His brown eyes held yours for a mere second, his mouth forming a frown as he glanced at your lips. There it was. He was interested. Hopefully, that`d be enough.

“I can`t,” was what he finally said.

Your mind began racing a hundred miles an hour. He wasn`t going to save you. You were on your own. Somehow you had to get both yourself and Claire out of this mess, but one look at Claires bloodied form made that plan very unlikely. The idea of getting only yourself out didn`t sit well with you though. Could you live with yourself if you left her behind? Heck, would you even get out yourself? Okay, time to act, time to think. Start scheming, you only have a few minutes.

“I call dibs!” Jeff announced, he was hovering over Claire`s body, his shoe digging playfully into the frail skin of her hands.

“On both?” Ben frowned, “No way, totally unfair!”

“You`ve never been righter Benjamin,” the clown chimed in, “Don`t be greedy now Jefferey, pick one.”

“I want that bitch,” the masked one chimed in, his masked features focused entirely on you.

“They`re both _mine_ ,” Jeff practically growled, his shoe pressing harder and harder on Claire`s hand until it distinctly cracked.

“Enough,” Toby finally sighed, his hand tightening around your wrist, “Argue over Claire, t-this ones spoken for.”

On that note, he dragged you out of the lounge, and you didn`t bother resisting. It was awful that Claire was left there, defenseless and battered, exposed to an array of killers, all their intentions revolving around killing her in the most painful ways they possibly could. Then again, your faith was going to be something similar. Come on brain, time to get some ideas pumping. Unfortunately, your brain was struggling, soon you found yourself back in the room where it had all started, the door closing as he turned to you.

“You`re going to kill me in here?” you asked bitterly.

“Would you rather they do it?” he asked back, equally bitter.

“I`d rather live.”

“T-this is the best I can do… it`ll be f-fast, I promise.”

That wasn`t exactly comforting. Your eyes began darting around the room, your mind scolding itself, begging and pleading for an idea, any idea. And then, just like that, it clicked.

“So this is it?” you mumbled as you pulled away.

He didn`t say anything.

“Can I at least have some water?”

“Y-yeah, of course,” he nodded at that, giving you one last sympathetic look before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Alright, go time.

Whirling around you scrambled towards the bed, your hand reaching under it before you felt the familiar straps of a duffel bag. Quickly, you tugged it out into the open, unzipping it sloppily. You picked up one of his axes, testing its weight in your hands. It was surprisingly heavy, there was no way you`d manage two. So quickly, you zipped the bag up, placing only one of the axes on the bed before kicking the duffel bag in.

Now for step two.

Grabbing onto the ax, you made your way to the closet, opening it before trying to make sense of the mess that was Toby`s closet. All you knew was he kept his keys in here, you remembered watching him get it from in here somewhere. With little time to spare, you began moving clothes around, opening drawers, and peering into shelves before jackpot. You tugged the car keys out of a little drawer, pushing them into your own pocket before managing to close the door of the closet.

Step three.

You took a deep breath, your entire body trembling and shaking as you pressed your back against the wall, the door sat inches beside you. You were terrified. This was dangerous, this was everything you never wanted to do. All of his threats became distinct in your mind. He would hunt you down if you run, he would succeed. He`d break your legs just like he had said, he`d take his time killing you, he wouldn`t care anymore. There was no way to kill him, even if you somehow escaped, he`d keep on coming. How long could you possibly run from him? How could you ever have a regular life again?

Now you were definitely crying.

The door opened, you held the ax against your chest, holding your breath. He stepped into the room, a glass of water in his hand. His eyes immediately turned to land on you, confusion settling into them, but it was too late. You had swung the ax before he could react, the blade tearing into his chest. A part of you wanted to scream, but you knew better than to alert the bickering monsters downstairs. The glass fell, shattering as Toby staggered backward. It wasn`t enough though. So, regrettably, you were forced to swing it at him again, this time leaving it buried deep in his chest. He was forced to the ground now, his fists clenching as he gritted his teeth, unable to get any words out as he cringed at the pain.

Feeling surprisingly guilty, you gave him one final, apologetic look. Turning away you ran down the hall, keeping your footsteps light as you snuck right past the lounge, the monsters too busy arguing to notice you. The moment you opened the door was the moment you heard that static again, the wind rustling as the house suddenly went quiet. They knew. Clenching your fist around the keys, you scrambled out of the house and into the grounds. Your eyes were locked on the hood of the car that sat neatly where Toby had parked it. Running was an understatement, as you made your way to the car, tearing the door open before you locked them all, shoving the keys in.

You didn`t look back as you stomped down on the accelerator, but what did it matter, you knew they`d be coming. You knew you could never escape. Instead, you probably just made it a lot worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment away, please and thank you, your feedback is what I write for~   
> :3 <3


	12. A Much Expected Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty.... um... how do I put this...  
> Man, there were a lot of weird things going on through my head as I wrote this. I was listening to some pretty intense, dark, yet sexy music (Crazy in love, Chase Holfelder- Animal, Novacine) while doing this so maybe that has something to do with it.  
> But hey, I had fun writing so hopefully you`ll have fun reading? Let me know~

Is this what a pillow felt like? Hard and lumpy? Where was that softness you remembered? Where was that cloud-like bliss you had fantasized about? Spending so much time sleeping on a floor could lead to idolizing something as simple as a pillow.

Grumbling to yourself, you sat up on the bed, punching your tried fists into the pillow. It didn`t look any more comfortable, and you simply found yourself staring down at it. You wanted to cry. Then again you had spent the past two hours crying in the car. The moment you had hit the road was the moment you had begun crying. There was no phone nearby, no GPS, no memory that could tell you how to get home. So, you followed the road wherever it would lead you. It`s not like you could go home anyways, you knew that would be the first place they`d look. You vaguely thought of your family now, they had never come to mind before, you were probably too caught up in your terror to think of them.

A small thought occurred, would they go after your family to get to you? You began crying harder.

The first motel you discovered was one you passed by. Same goes for the second motel. You didn`t actually stop until the fifth motel. You didn`t stop until you were a thousand percent certain they wouldn`t be able to track you. There was no money on you or in the car, but luckily the motel manager didn`t ask for any. He probably expected you to pay after you were done with the room. Were you a criminal now? It`s not like you had any other option. You couldn`t go to the police, you had already tried that, it had already failed.

God, there was no way out. Maybe you were better off dying, you surely felt dead. You couldn`t even sleep, Jack would torture you, he`d find you like he had before. Was it so crazy? To want to live? It didn`t feel like you were asking for the world. Around 7 billion people lived on this Earth. Was it so wrong that you just wanted to be one of them?

Your body felt sore and tired, your mind ached, and you felt emotionally drained and traumatized. Claire was still back there, still alive, left to be that monsters plaything. She would still be free if it wasn`t for you. She came back for you. All your fault. You deserved to die…

Wiping away the hot tears on your cheek, you got off the bed, your arms cradling your chest as you stumbled over to the dresser. There was a mirror mounted there, and the reflection that looked back didn`t look like you. You had gotten even skinnier than before, your eyes had sunken into your skull, and they now held a certain wildness about them. There was more though, a certain fire behind them, determination. No, fuck that, if you deserved to die, you`d be dead by now. Yet here you were, alive and fighting.

The sadness began to turn into bitterness and anger as you headed off into the washroom. You roughly pulled off the clothing _he_ had bought for you, not caring if you tore some of the fabric as you tossed it onto the floor. You were even sure to step on it as you walked into the shower stall. You tried to picture all the stress and anxiety being washed away with the water- it didn`t really work out like that though. You felt equally distressed, just a little wetter.

“Clean fresh start,” you whispered to yourself, “It`s over now, it`s all over.” That was a lie, but maybe repeating it enough would make it more convincing.  “Over, all over, done, free, safe, so safe, extremely safe, the president wishes he was as safe as me.” Alright, maybe a little overkill. Sighing, you let your legs give up, laying your head on the glass as you just sat there. Your fingers had become significantly pruned when you finally stepped out of the stall, closing the tap. There was no towel, you hadn`t planned that far ahead in your traumatic state of mind. Heck, the only clothes you had were the droopy, smudged, and crumpled mess on the floor.

Great, now you were cold, wet, and extremely underdressed. Who`s idea was this again?

Alright, you could use the bedsheets to dry yourself off, and you`d regrettably have to wear those clothes again. Or hey, maybe you could be extra rebellious and turn a nudist leaf in your life. Clothes are so 18th century anyways.

Yeah, the inner monologue wasn`t helping your situation. They probably kept towels in the closet. So, that`s exactly what you did. Stepping out of the washroom, you quickly tiptoed over to the closet, and hallelujah, they had towels. You dried off immediately, wrapping it around your body before heading back to the bed. You wrapped the blankets around you, suddenly feeling so cozy, so warm, so hazy. Your eyes were beginning to lull back in your head, the premise of sleep becoming clearer and clearer until you were certain you couldn`t fight it anymore.

“Ms. Coles?”

Your eyes snapped open when you heard the knock that followed that name. You had told the man at the desk your name was Whitney Coles. It was the first thing that had come to mind. He knocked once more, repeating the same name.

“Yes?” wow, you`re voice sounded as weak and frail as you felt.

“Can I come in?” he asked awkwardly.

“N-no,” you stated rather bluntly, glancing down at your indecent self. “Hey, do you have any spare clothes?”

He was silent for a moment, but you distinctly heard faint whispering. Was there someone else there with him? Alarm bells went off in your head. Oh, God. Were they here? You weren`t ready. It was too soon. Where was the window? You had to get out. Where did you put the car keys? Clothes, was there even time for clothes?

“Ms. Coles please, I- I know who you are,” the man sighed, “please open the door.”

You got up frantically, running from side to side, trying to open windows to no avail. Perhaps they weren`t meant to be open or perhaps you were simply too weak at the moment. Either way, it felt as if the walls were closing in.

“Look, I`m coming in…” the man said again, and you heard the distinct clicking of keys against the lock. Of course, the owner had a spare key.

Swallowing your fear, you decided to grab the nearest lamp, pulling it out of its plug and holding it in front of you like a sword. Fine, if they wanted a fight, it`d be a fight they`d get. The door opened. The manager stood there with wide eyes as you swung the lamp at him. It would have probably connected if it wasn`t for the firm hand that caught yours, stopping you mid-swing. It took you a moment to see that hand was connected to a familiar looking woman. Officer Danvers, she was the woman that interrogated you when you had gotten to the hospital. She was the one that was supposed to stop those monsters.

“I`ve been looking for you for a while,” she said slowly as she eased your hand down, forcing you to drop the lamp. “You`ve been a missing person for weeks, you were supposed to be in protective custody.”

You tugged your arm away from her, pulling your towel in closer.

“Wasn`t very protective in my experience,” was what you decided to mutter.

Danvers frowned at that, her eyes thoughtful for a brief moment, “I`m supposed to take you into F.B.I care.”

Now that sounded a bit better, but you still knew it would make no difference in the end. Whether they were FBI officers or police officers, no one could stop them. “I don`t think so, how`d you find me?”

“I called the police,” the motel owner said, now looking a little nervous. “Your picture has been on the news for a while.”

You took that in for a moment before turning to the officer.

“I`m not going anywhere with you, if you really wanna help you`ll give me some cash and clothes.”

Danvers gave you a glare, her mouth forming a frown as she turned to the owner, whispering something before he left. On that note she stepped into the room, closing the door.

“Listen here, I get it, okay? I know I messed up.” She was practically growling. “You think I don`t know that? My partner`s been missing for days and you`re the first hint I`ve gotten. They let you go, maybe you can lead us back to them.”

They had her partner? You didn`t recall seeing anyone else. Wait, no, you did. Your stomach began to sink as you recalled the man strapped to the table in that medical room. It was when Jack, the other Jack, the eyeless one, was bandaging you up. You had seen a man then, her partner. He was dead by now, wasn`t he? Or maybe Jack was keeping him there, a little plaything for his sick, sick, um, well, to be honest you weren`t sure what Jack did to them. Oh, wait, you remembered now. He`d eat them.

“I…” you weren`t sure what to say.

“Shut up,” she didn`t seem to care. “You`re coming with me, the F.B.I knows about them. They know what those killers can do. They didn`t think to tell us though, those fucking bastards.” She grabbed your naked wrist, giving you a sharper tug, and it was next to impossible to resist her strength. She seemed as emotional as you felt. Clearly, she too had been busy during your whole kidnapped-and-held-for-ransom ordeal. Danvers never made it to the door though, instead, it opened on its own accord, the motel owner standing there.

Danvers furrowed her eyebrows, “What is it?”

He never answered, his eyes glazing over as he simply fell to his knees, blood pooling around him. It was then that you noticed a familiar masked man standing behind him. It wasn`t Toby, instead, it was the more aggressive masked one. What was he called, Tim? Yeah, Tim sounded about right. Was it better that he had come to kill you instead of Toby?

Danvers let you go, reaching for her gun instead before she turned to aim it at the man.

“Take one fucking step you scumbag,” she hissed, all of her animosity pouring into her words.

That was exactly what Tim did though, taking not only one step forward, but several. Danvers didn`t shoot though, her gun trembled in her hands as she glared daggers at him. They both knew. Everybody in the room knew. A gun was useless. Nothing could stop them, and as if to emphasize the point, Tim grabbed the muzzle of the gun, holding it firmly against his chest, as if daring the woman to shoot. She glared at him for a second, suddenly gritting her teeth before firing into his chest, emptying every bullet into him.

He didn`t even flinch.

He pulled the gun away when she was done, but even that didn`t stop her as she growled, lunging right at him. That seemed to do the trick as he stumbled onto the ground, Danvers on top of him as she clawed and punched. Man, they must have put that woman through hell.

Now, as crazy as it sounded, you decided to take that moment to slip out. Something about barely surviving kept you smart, and though you felt guilty, you knew this was your opportunity to run. It didn`t matter though, the moment you stepped out the doorway was the moment you saw a familiar hooded man near the reception desk, examining something. Staying absolutely silent, you took a few steps backward, turning around and deciding to tiptoe deeper into the hall.

Maybe you could hide.

Maybe they`d think you had escaped, they`d leave then, they would never know. The hallway only went so far, and there were at least several room in it. You tried every doorknob, and many of them opened. Still, you decided to pick the furthest one, something about putting distance between yourself and the scuffle that was clearly taking place in the room you had left Danvers and Tim in.

You slipped into the dark room, still holding that goddamn towel around your chest. After closing it gently, you turned to look around. You could barely make out the silhouettes of furniture as you quietly stumbled around, holding onto this and that for balance and security. Finally, you found the edge of the bed, and being as stereotypical as ever, you got on your knees, crawling under. Dust and debris stuck to your wet skin, but you could care less as you pressed yourself to the floor, closing your eyes and relaxing.

You`d be okay. They wouldn`t even think to search in the motel.

You counted the seconds.

1… 2… 3… 4…

They built up into minutes, and you finally lost count around the twentieth minute. The motel had become awfully silent, the noise from Danvers room had drowned out a while ago. You weren`t sure if she was dead, no, you actually were quite sure. Just another misfortune to add to your list of things-to-feel-guilty-about. First that man, the one with the car, the kids-chair in the back seat, the one that had picked you up. Then that security guard, the one that thought you were a crazy bitch. Then there was that lady in the store, the one Toby had stolen clothes from. Can`t forget Claire either, she came back for you. What about that poor motel owner too? Ah, and of course Danvers and her partner, they were your fault too.

How many more people would die until this was finally over? Would it ever be over?

The door creaked open and you now felt that fear sink in. Your hands silently came to your mouth, wrapping over your lips as you silenced your breathing. The door closed, and the floorboards began to creak. You barely made out the silhouette of shoes against the floor, your heartbeat beginning to reach a dangerous level. Not knowing what else to do, you closed your eyes, trying to convince yourself it was all a bad dream.

He`ll be gone soon.

He won`t notice.

Just a little while longer.

You began counting the seconds again.

1… 2… 3…

Your concentration was interrupted as you felt someone grab your ankles, yanking you out. A horrified scream ripped through your throat as you clawed at the floor, your nails fumbling as you found yourself pulled up and held against the bed. You instinctively squirmed and thrashed for a good minute, your captor simply holding you in place until you tired yourself out. Still, you put up a fight, throwing punches and kicks that found little to no purchase. Finally, you could do nothing but give up, fighting the tears that threatened to spill as you stared up at the figure.

Even in the dark, you were able to recognize him, his goggles were pulled up, sitting on his head while his mask laid neatly over his face. He still smelt the same too, sandalwood and smoke. There was something else too, his usually cold eyes looked a little different, a little hotter, fiery, angry.

His arms were on either side of you, holding you in between his body and the bed. What made it worse was probably the fact that you had lost your towel under the bed. So, here you were. Naked, wet, and in the dark, with a most likely pissed-off psychopath in your immediate vicinity. God must really hate you.

Nothing happened for another good minute, he simply stared at you, and you simply stared back. How angry was he? He hadn`t done anything yet. Maybe he was just thinking, thinking of all the ways he intended on killing you. On that note, you recognized the reflective glint of his axes hanging off his belt. He was definitely ready to kill you. He`d probably make it slow and painful, you had provoked that much out of him for sure. Still, what choice did you have? It was either run or die, and you simply couldn`t bring yourself to dying. Something had just kicked in, adrenaline, fight-or-flight, either way, you simply couldn`t let yourself die.

So here you were, your goddamn need to survive had probably worsened everything.

“Toby…” you whispered his name, as if checking to see if the man you knew was home. He wasn`t though, instead the same fiery-eyed Toby continued to stare. However, he did make a move, one hand wrapping around your throat as he pushed you up onto the bed. He pulled his mask down, his body leaning in to kiss you. It had caught you by surprise, the savagery behind that kiss as he choked you harder, forcing you to squirm and gasp. You felt his teeth tearing at your lower-lip, the metallic taste of blood making its way onto your tongue.

Alright, you could play off this. Sure, he was very, very, and if you hadn`t noticed, very angry. But there was something else there too. Maybe it was the convenient nudity, or maybe it was something else, but he was giving in a little. So perhaps it was due to instincts or a sense of hope, but either way, you found yourself gently holding onto the fabric of his jacket, weakly returning his aggressive kiss. He seemed to soften up a little then, his grip on your neck loosening until he had removed his hand. He actually removed everything, letting you go in every sense of the word as he took a few steps back.

“Y-you ran,” he decided to say.

“You…” damn, your throat hurt, “you tried to kill me!”

“W-what did you e-expect?” he sounded as if he was rolling his eyes.

“This,” you grumbled, “I expected more of… this” you looked down at yourself, then at him, your fingers coming to wipe the blood from your lips.

His eyes seemed to light up at that, taking your words as an invitation to step closer until he was once again pressed up against you.

“I don`t understand,” he said the words firmly, seriously. “You know I c-can`t, I mean, I`m not…” he frowned.

“You mean something to me,” you said, and yes, he did mean something to you. You hated him. “I think I… I might have feelings…” feelings that revolved around choking the bastard. “And I didn`t think you`d kill me, I thought you had feelings too.” Alright, that part was actually true.

You weren`t sure what you were hoping to accomplish but right now, it was the only thing you could think to do. Goddamn survival instincts.

“Show me.”

You blinked at him, your eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness at this point and you could very clearly see him unbuttoning his jacket.

Oh, okay, you knew where this was going…

“What?” you asked just in case your hunch was wrong.

“You have f-feelings for me, hmm?” he sounded a little sarcastic, as if he knew how you truly felt. “Prove it t-then.”

The jacket had come off now, dropping to the floor as he returned his attention to your lips. You weren`t even capable of returning the kiss, your mind running a marathon as you realized what was about to happen next. He placed one hand on your waist, his fingers cool against your naked skin as he pulled you firmly against him. He took your hand in his, pressing it against the buttons of his shirt, daring you to take it off.

“Show me you love me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long, detailed sex scene? Or no long, detailed sex scene?   
> That is the question.   
> Then again I don`t even know if it`ll happen, to be quite honest I`m in the dark as much as you guys are. We`ll just have to wait and see what type of mood I`m in when I start on the next chapter. But hey, your feedback, suggestions, and theories are always much appreciated.  
> In other words, please grace me with some comments. I live for them <3
> 
> OH WAIT NEVERMIND!  
> Just remembered this book is already rated R, and I already put sex/smut in the tags, so that means YES, LONG DETAILED SEX SCENE, WOOOOOO! I`ma get started on that right now :^)
> 
> Ahem, please comment though.


	13. A Night in the Motel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter last week, immediately after publishing the previous one.   
> :^)

Okay, this would be okay, everything would be absolutely, totally, incredibly okay. You could do this, it wouldn`t be so bad. Sure as hell beats Jeff at least. Were you ready for this though? To be honest, you weren`t entirely sure. It was one thing scheming and planning, but to actually do it, to actually be intimate with a person like him. That was a whole different story. The man that had killed so many people, the man that had kidnapped you in the first place, the man that had tortured and terrorized you. Would you even want to live after this? Would being alive feel the same? It felt as if a part of you would die if you went along with this. The moral part, the ethical part, the part that cared about all life on this planet, the part that wanted to go home and fall asleep with no fear in the world.

“W-well?” he asked.

The key word was asked. It was your choice. He wasn`t like Jeff, he wouldn`t make you, and that just seemed to make it worse. As awful as it sounded, it would be much easier if he`d just force himself on you, at least that way you wouldn`t have to live with the guilt. Sure, you can tell yourself you did it all for the sake of survival. Maybe it`ll give you a sense of peace now and then, but not forever. You knew you`d wake up late at night regretting this for the rest of your life.

But what was the alternative?

Say no? He`d kill you then. No, not that, not _just_ that. He`d torment you. He`d hurt you in all the ways he had promised to. You knew he`d do it too, your missing finger was proof of that. Was this an easy pass then? A get-out-of-jail-free-card?

Alright then.

One step at a time, take it slow, take it easy. Just start by unbuttoning his shirt, it didn`t sound too hard, you could do that surely. Swallowing the fear, you hesitantly undid the button at the collar of his shirt. He didn`t react, his hands on your waist as he watched you undo the remaining buttons. The guilt returned when you were out of buttons, his shirt now undone. Not knowing what else to do, you pushed the fabric off his shoulders and down his arms. Even in the darkness you were able to make out the faint scar that lined his chest where you had struck him with the ax. It was almost healed, and your hand subconsciously reached out to touch it. His eyes were locked on your fingers as you did, his breathing noticeably slowing.

Had he ever done anything like this before? Had he ever been with a woman? He was definitely inexperienced when you had first kissed him but kissing and sex were two very different things. Kissing was romantic, emotional, intimate, while sex could be raw and heartless. Jeff had probably had plenty of sex, but you were willing to bet that he had never kissed. So, was Toby the same case? He probably didn`t force women like Jeff, but then again, who would freely consent to Toby? He was a murderous psychopath after all. Then again there were some crazy people out there, those that romanticized lunatics and what not.

“Have you ever…?” you decided you might as well ask.

He smirked at that, his smile loosening the intensity of the atmosphere. It wasn`t an answer, but there was no point in pestering as he lifted you up onto the bed behind you. Alright, he might be a tad bit impatient. You couldn`t help but crawl back a little, not entirely sure if it was to get more comfortable, or perhaps to put a little extra distance between you two. Either way, the distance thing didn`t matter as he easily closed it, one hand tightening around the headboard as he leaned in to kiss you again. You vaguely saw his other hand working on his belt and quickly decided to focus all your attention on the kissing.

On a side note, he really seemed to be into the whole kissing thing. Maybe you were just that good at it.

You heard the belt slip through its straps before it was tossed aside somewhere. He stopped the kissing to get rid of his pants, giving you a few seconds to breath and wrap your head around what was inevitably coming next. Nervous. You were nervous. Not necessarily scared but definitely nervous and a little uncomfortable. At least it was dark.

His mouth was on your neck this time, and your hands instinctively came up against his chest, almost holding him at bay. It only seemed to encourage him though, your fingers unavoidably rubbing against the muscles that made up his abdomen. One of his hands had now trailed down your torso, smoothly lifting your leg up and holding it around his waist, opening you up to him.  Okay, he knew what he was doing. Well, that answers that question. You decided to close your eyes, maybe that would spare you some of the embarrassment. Maybe keeping absolutely silent would help as well. However, that became next to impossible as his other hand trailed from your waist to your breast, eliciting a gasp as you abruptly sat up.

He stopped, sighing, sitting up again to face you.

“You ha-haven`t stopped shaking,” he told you, sitting there casually with your legs around his waist.

You simply looked at him, not sure what to say to that. He didn`t rush you though, just watching intently until you finally managed to say something, anything.

“It`s cold and I`m wet?” you offered that as a believable excuse.

He raised an eyebrow at that before leaning down again.

“Wait, wait!” you quickly pushed him up again, this time coming up to sit too, your arms instinctively folding over your chest.

His expression was a mix of irritation and disappointment as he looked at you expectantly.

“What happens after _this_?” you weren`t sure if you were stalling for the sake of stalling or if you were truly curious. Probably a bit of both.

“Let`s hear your t-th-theories?” he suggested, seeming to ease up a little now, leaning back on his arms as he sat there across from you.

You had to hand it to him, the man was patient.

Now all you had to do was keep your eyes focused on his face and nowhere _else._

“Let me go?” you knew it was a longshot but there was no harm in asking.

He didn`t even bother denying it.

“Right…” well, it was worth a try. “Are you gonna kill me?”

“We`ll see.”

That wasn`t exactly comforting.

“Are you gonna take me back there?”

He didn`t answer again. Maybe a different line of questions would be a better option.

“For such a violent murderer, you`re pretty considerate in this department.”

Still no response, then again that wasn`t really question, more of an observation.

“Why don`t you die?” you asked bluntly. Now that was a question and a rather straightforward one at that.

“Hmm,” he thought about that for a moment, his eyes not leaving yours for a second. “Supernatural p-powers at w-w-work.”

“Were you born this way?” you tilted your head a little, leaning back against the beds headboards.

“N-n-not exactly,” was his vague response.

“Is there any way… to kill you?”

He laughed at that, a short, deep, dark laugh.

“Planning something?” he asked before his smile disappeared, his eyes darkening for a moment. “S-s-speaking of bad ideas…” his hand came up to the scar at his chest.

He was still mad about that. Would he still hurt you after this was all done and over? Would he torture you for it? Might as well ask, better now than later.

“Are you going to hurt me?” you asked, a little disappointed at how meek and pathetic your voice sounded at that moment.

“Definitely.”

Your stomach began to churn with dread, but what did you expect? Suddenly following through on this whole romance thing made you feel sick. But it was your only chance, wasn`t it? You`re only chance at surviving. It didn`t seem worth it anymore, not when a world of pain was all that waited for you on the other end. What would he do to you? Take the rest of your fingers? Maybe the entire hand? The anticipation was killing you. You knew it was coming, you knew it was only a matter of time, you knew there was no escaping now.

Dying was your only real shot at being free, but you had missed it and now you would suffer for it.

“I just wanna go home,” you had never sounded more pathetic in your entire life. “I wanna work my unfair, underpaying jobs. I wanna stress and crash over university assignments. I wanna freeze in the autumn because heating bills are too damn high. I wanna die.”

“Is t-th-that so?” his voice was exceptionally cold as he cut in. “You w-wanna die?” He was dead serious. “They`re out there w-waiting for me. Go on, run f-for it. They won`t hesitate to kill you. Tim`s been fantasizing about it the moment you showed up.”

You weren`t sure why, but you stood up at that moment, your hands still wrapped around your chest as you slowly walked the distance to the door. Toby didn`t move, not bothering to stop you as you placed a hand on the door knob. Turn it. Run. They`ll see you. They`ll kill you. And then, this would all be over, you`d be free, no more pain, no more crying, no more guilt. It felt like an eternity had passed as you stood there, your hand still around the knob as you stared into the wooden frame, as if it held all the answers to your problems. In a sense it did.

But that`s the thing, life is so tricky to explain. The need to survive is even harder. Maybe it`s self preservation, you weren`t sure, you didn`t know. All you did know was you couldn`t do it. You couldn`t kill yourself. You wanted to, the urge had never been stronger, but despite all your mental screaming you simply couldn`t turn the knob. The need to cry had once again returned, but at this point you were well out of tears. Might as well save them for the torture that would ensue soon after.

Your fingers dropped from the knob, your body feeling sick and incredibly tired as you turned back to the bed. The cold floor did nothing to relieve your anxiety as you took one step after the other, crawling back on the bed before dropping your head on the mattress. Your legs shamelessly opened, you didn`t care at this point. However, you did take a moment to grab one of the pillows, holding it over your face in a poor attempt of hiding how pathetic you looked and felt at that moment.

You felt the mattress sink as he placed a hand beside your head, holding himself up on top of you. You also felt him tug the pillow away, throwing it aside to join his clothes and weapons. Maybe he wanted to see your face as he did it, he wanted to see how awful you felt. You couldn`t even bring it in yourself to look at him anymore, your head lolling to the side as you just stared into the darkness that surrounded you.

He sighed at that, his body shifting to the side as he laid beside you, his head propped up on his hand as he looked down at you.

“Wanna know a secret?” he asked quietly.

You didn`t even bother responding, you didn`t care.

“I-I-it`s possible to kill me.”

It took a moment for that to sink in, but your eyes noticeably widened the moment it did. He could die? They could die? It was possible to kill them. It was possible to escape. This could all end. It had been a fairly long time since you felt the familiar warmth of hope deep inside yourself.

“H-how?!” you blurted out.

He didn`t answer that.

Of course he wouldn`t tell you how, but he did tell you it was possible. He was trying to give you hope, he didn`t want you to stop fighting. But why? Why did he care so much? Did he care at all? No, he just wanted to have fun with you. He wanted you to try running, he wanted to enjoy the hunt. But wait, he wasn`t like that. He had tried to keep you quiet and contained when you were confined to his room. He had made it very clear, that he wanted an easy prisoner. He wasn`t like the others, he didn`t play with his victims.

Then why?

His expression didn`t give you any answers, as blank and cold as ever as he leaned in to kiss you yet again. He was on top of you again now, the mood, atmosphere- whatever it was had returned, and he seemed eager once again. However, this time, you didn`t feel all that pathetic and helpless. Man, tonight had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and it wasn`t over yet.

You managed to hold still as he ran a hand from the soft skin of your neck down your breasts and to your hips. He seemed to be testing your reactions, taking it slow as his lips moved to your neck once again, picking up where they had left off. His hand pulled your leg around his waist again, lifting you up a little when you finally felt _him_ again. It was impossible not to react, a shiver running up your spine as your legs began to tremble. Then there you went again, sitting up abruptly and pushing him aside.

Toby quite literally buried his head into your neck, groaning in irritation.

“Sorry, it`s just… I… I`m just a little-

His hand wrapped around your mouth, silencing you as he gave you a blank look. He pushed your hand back down into the mattress.

“Enough,” was all he decided to say, his tone as cold and unfeeling as ever.

You weren`t entirely sure what that meant.

He shuffled a bit back, his head dipping down to your stomach. You felt his cold lips against the skin of your abdomen, kissing you gently, comfortingly. Still, it was difficult not to squirm, but he didn`t seem to care at this point. His hands had eased themselves around your waist, holding you still as his mouth traveled down your naval. His intentions now became clear, and no, you were definitely not ready. He stopped at your hips, biting down a little, just enough to make you cry out. You felt him smirk against you before he licked a trail down your thigh.

Alright, well he was definitely committed now. Was it so wrong that you couldn`t help but shudder, natural reactions beginning to come into play. His touch began to feel hot, everything began to feel hot, then there was this throbbing, probably your heart.

It was then that his tongue sank into your core, and God, it felt hot. Well, hot, exhilarating, electric, and a whole skew of other things that resulted in you arching up, clutching the bedsheets. Your body fell back onto the bed as he held your leg up to give himself more access, his tongue delving deeper, sinful in the most tantalizing of ways.

“T-Toby!” you couldn`t help but gasp the name out, a bit embarrassed the moment the word left your mouth. It didn`t matter though, it didn`t matter if you squirmed or thrashed, his grip was like iron, holding you in place. It seemed his patience only lasted so long, he wasn`t giving you any chances now. The world actually seemed to be getting hazier, a certain pressure was beginning to build in your stomach, and it felt incredible. It came in waves, building up, threatening to crash, leaving you moaning and confused.

Your hands had found their way into his hair, reluctantly holding him there as you sighed his name again. Was it you, or did he just growl at that?

You were nearing the edge, the pressure becoming too much, your mind hazing over as your vision was beginning to blur. He seemed to take notice, his tongue coming up to focus at your clit, pushing you over. Did you scream? Cry out his name? Probably both, most likely both. There it was though, that sensation of pure bliss, pure pleasure, pure heaven as you came undone. Him being the tease he was only worsened it by biting down on your clit, resulting in another wave of intensity.

Your head fell back into the mattress, eyes closing with no resistant as recovering the ability to breathe became a struggle. When was the last time someone did that? You sure as hell didn`t remember it being that good.

“H-haven`t done that before,” he admitted, moving up to kiss you for the hundredth time. He tasted like you.

You`d have responded but the warm, fuzzy feeling inside was beginning to lull you to sleep. Your eyes felt heavy, your body felt spent, and rather nonchalantly you turned away from him, shifting to your side and sinking into the mattress. He didn`t say anything immediately, he didn`t make another move, instead a few seconds of silence passed. You then faintly heard him stand up, grumbling something to himself as he began to slide his jeans back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, don`t be too put off by Toby's niceness, it`s only temporary >:D  
> Secondly, if this type of Toby isn`t what you were hoping for in sex, then don`t worry. There will be plenty of sexual chapters to come and we`ll have plenty of different flavors of Toby to enjoy... that sounded a lot smoother in my head.  
> And finally, watcha think ;D? Dying for some feedback.
> 
> On a side note... I`ve written a few future chapters already and so I`ll be updating every Friday for a while. But don`t worry, I`ll go back to updating once a month (roughly) soon enough. 
> 
> Now hit me with them comments! Wooooo~


	14. The New Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I call a transition chapter, getting le character from point A to point B.  
> They feel quite filler-ish but hopefully you`ll enjoy it.

The world was moving.

Trees and buildings went by. People went by, free people. Clouds and birds, whizzing on by without a care in the world. It`s funny how these things never matter to us. Every person does a lot of walking in their life, from the bus to the house, from one store to another, from class to class. We don`t ever stop to appreciate the things around us, far too busy, far too impatient. Sure, every now and then you`ll tell yourself it`s a ‘nice day’, but the world has a lot more depth to it. The world is a lot more than just  _nice_. But that world didn`t belong to you anymore. All those things out there, that world out there- that wasn`t yours. No, your world was here now, your world was dark and painful, twisted beyond belief with no end in sight.

The outside world was moving, but your world remained still.

Shaking off the existential nonsense, you scanned your surroundings. You were in a car, in the passenger seat this time, your head slumped against the window. Straightening up, you attempted to rub the sleep from your eyes, immediately failing when you noticed your hand was awkwardly handcuffed to the gearstick. Well, you couldn`t blame them.

For some reason you glanced behind yourself to the backseats first. They were empty. Then you turned to the driver seat, quite surprised when you didn`t recognize the man driving. He was staring ahead, one hand on the wheel while the other lay on his armrest, his fingers thrumming against it casually. His brown eyes were intense, far darker and predatory than Toby`s. His hair was dark black and tousled each and every way.

You blinked at him for a few moments before you recognized his tan jacket, your eyes darting to the backseat again to confirm your suspicions. There it was, his white painted mask laying there on the backseat, just waiting for him to pick it up again.

You swallowed.

Your next instinct was to look down at yourself. There was a police jacket buttoned over your chest, the pants however, you did not recognize. This was Danvers`s jacket, wasn`t it? You were wearing a dead woman’s jacket. She had died wearing this. You`d be more bothered about it, but there wasn`t anything you can do, and you definitely weren`t going to take it off.

“Um…” you didn`t know where to begin, “where ar-

He smoothly lifted his hand, reaching out to the car radio and cranking it up. Smooth jazz played. He wasn`t in the mood for conversations it seems, and you weren`t going to bother pushing it.

What had happened to Toby though? You still felt, well, let`s go with fuzzy. Fuzzy from the things that had occurred the pervious night. Him just disappearing didn`t make any sense. Him leaving you in the care of a man that most definitely wanted to kill you didn`t make much sense either. Was Toby angry? You didn`t have sex with him like he had wanted, it never managed to go that far. Maybe he didn`t want you anymore because of that? Well, you weren`t sure if he ever wanted you.

Maybe he lost interest? Maybe your lack of interest in him had turned him off completely. Maybe he didn`t believe your claims of ‘loving’ him anymore. Maybe he was sending you off to die. Approving your execution. Apparently the bastard didn`t have the guts to do it himself, so he has got his lackey to do it. He was going to drive into some dark desolate corner of the world. He`d stop the car. He`d unchain you, drag you out into some lonesome alley, some lonesome forest, some lonesome desert. Would he use a gun? A knife? His bare hands? When he was done, he`d drop your corpse in a lake, bury it in the woods, burn it.

You`d stay a missing person forever. No one would know what happened. They`d eventually all forget about you. Just another person who lived, just another person that died. One of millions.

 But you had come so far.

If he was going to kill you, you were going to go down kicking and screaming. Maybe give him a good, hard kick in the groin. Just for the sake of bravery. Well, bravery and stupidity.

The drive carried on silence, highways passed by, strip malls passed by, neighbourhoods, more people. You didn`t recognize anything, none of the streets or places made sense, and you were left wondering where exactly you were. The day had turned to night and the car hadn`t stopped. Hunger came and pushed you to the point of bitter starvation, but eventually your mind grew accustomed to the gnawing. Thirst came next, but you knew better than to ask. Sleep was the only thing you could indulge in, and so you did, fading in and out of consciousness.

The driving didn`t stop, the radio played all the way through.

You weren`t sure why, but your body immediately awoke itself to the scent of food. The car was gone, Tim was gone too. Instead you were in a well-furnished living room of sorts, a fireplace crackling mere meters away. Was the drive finally over? Where were you now? This didn`t look like the dark alley you had imagined. There was a couch a few feet away from you, but Tim being the douchebag he was, had purposely left you on the floor. What did you expect though? Where was he anyways? Why were you here?

You slowly crawled onto your knees, your body slow from the hunger and thirst. Your throat was practically cracking as you inhaled the smoky aroma of the fire. Now on your feet, you took imbalanced, imperfect steps towards the smell, peering into a doorway that was no doubt the kitchen. Your eyes instantly caught on the glistening McDonalds soda cup that sat on the table, a similarly logoed paper bag accompanied it. Using the wall for balance, you hurried to get to it, your mouth would have salivated if it wasn`t dry as a desert.

There was no point in sitting down, and after checking to see if anyone was there, you picked up the drink. You stood there for a good minute, just chugging soda, the tiny straw frustrating you. It was Sprite or maybe Seven Up, one of those lemony ones. Maybe the food wasn`t for you, after all you didn`t expect Tim to cater to your human needs. Still, you didn`t care. What were they gonna do? Kill you? As far as you were concerned, that was unavoidable.

So, you peeked into the paper bag, greasy fries and a fish burger greeted you. The bastard got a fish burger? Really?

Well, food was food, and so you took a moment to sit down at the wooden table, biting in to sandwich. It was impossible to actually taste it considering the speed at which you were devouring it. Something about prisoners on deaths row came to mind, they`d often get to pick their last meal. Apparently, your last meal was a half-assed McDonalds combo.

It was then that you noticed it.

The McDonalds logo on the bag was the usual large yellow M but sitting right at the center of it was a small, red leaf. You recognized it. It was a maple leaf, just like the one on the Canadian flag. You were in Canada. You would die in Canada.

You were finishing up some of the French fries, your head resting on your hand as you just stared ahead. Above the oven was a little window, the curtains were drawn, but you were able to see through a tiny sliver. The outside world was white, little drops of snow falling to add to the larger mounds that seemed to go on forever and ever. You didn`t see any buildings, but were able to make out large trees, conifers, tall and green.

You were shaken from your little trance when someone picked up the McDonalds cup. Your eyes quickly shot up, expecting see Tim. Instead, all you saw was Toby lifting the cup to his mouth before taking a thoughtful sip. His lips twitched down in a frown before he put the cup back on the table. Should you be happy to see him? For the time being the only thing that was going through your mind was embarrassment. Not too long ago this man had seen you naked, this man had his tongue in your-

Nope, you weren’t going to think about that.

“How are you?” he asked it so casually, as if nothing had ever happened, as if he was a friend simply catching up. So, you decided you might as well treat him as one, calmly looking up at him as he hovered over you. It was then that you noticed the blood that was dripping down his jeans, looking closer you saw it was coming from the axes that sat hooked in his belt. The entire blade was practically dipped in red and brown, more spurts of blood marked his sleeves and hand, he even had a little bit on his goggles which currently laid around his neck. The McDonalds cup even had bloody fingerprints left on it from where he had held it.

Who`d he kill this time? How many had he killed?

“I`m…” what was the question again? “I`m okay…” you weren’t okay. Okay was the furthest thing from what you were. You were scared, depressed, terrified, miserable, angry, and currently recovering from your starvation and dehydration. You were not fine. “What… happened?” were you even allowed to ask? “Where are we?’

He looked down at himself for a moment, then he looked back at you. There was no answer given as he walked around the table, turning one of the chairs around before sitting on it. He leaned in towards you.

“The couple t-th-that owned this cabin is letting us live here. T-th-they`re buried out back.” he pulled his mask and goggles off as he spoke, setting them down on the table. “Let me explain t-this inst-instead.” He was no working on removing his axes, setting them on the table too before he went to work on his jacket. “Here`s the deal, and yes, it`s your c-choice. You can stay here with me while I`m working-

“Working?” you realized little too late you had interrupted him. He luckily didn`t seem to mind, his eyes were on the buttons of his jacket as he was undoing them, but he answered nonetheless.

“The boss m-ma-marked a few people here.”

“Oh…” was all you said, assuming that marked couldn`t mean anything good. Considering the state of his weapons, probably not anything good.

“So,” he added his jacket to the pile on the table, rolling his shoulders back before relaxing into the chair. “I`ll let you live, while I`m here, but then…”

You understood. He`d keep you around for a while then kill you.

You didn`t believe it though, you actually felt fairly hopeful. Before this, he was going to kill you the day they found Claire. He was then supposed to kill you when he found you at the motel, but here you were now, he was giving you longer. When he was done here in Canada, he would attempt to kill you again, but you were fairly confident he`d end up prolonging it even then. The only question was, why? And so, that was exactly what you asked.

“Why are you letting me live?”

“Well, I haven`t fucked you yet.”

You weren`t sure how to respond. Was he kidding? He sounded like he was kidding? Then again who knows when it comes to him.

“I like you,” he added, as if his previous statement wasn`t shocking enough. “N-never met a-an-anyone that tries as hard as you to survive. It`s adorable.”

You weren`t sure how to feel about that. You were in emotional disarray. There was a certain part of you, a feminine, emotional part that felt attracted and attached to him. Then there was the logical, primal part that only felt hatred and fear.

You felt like a mess.

“And the others…?” you decided to ask, logical thinking would keep you distracted from the strange, tingly feelings.

“Tim and Brian might drop by, they`re dealing with that cop for now,” he replied smoothly, “E-everyone el-else however, you won`t live to see again.”

You once again didn`t think much of his threat, instead focusing your mind on the fact that Danvers was still alive. Were those two torturing her right now? Interrogating her for answers she did or did not have? Was she doing better than you? Would you be doing worst than her?

Toby got off the chair, walking around to gently grab your wrist, pulling you onto your feet. “This next part though… well…” he sounded almost apologetic now, his once friendly demeanor disappearing in favour for something darker. He led you out of the kitchen and into the living room again. He released you for a brief moment, placing one foot against the couch and giving it a smooth push forward, making more floor-room.

He glanced around now, as if checking the dimensions of the space he had made, making sure there was just enough room. Room for what, you wondered. Once he was content, he extended his hand out and you reluctantly took it. He brought you to the center, before giving you a little push, forcing you to stumble onto your ass. You just blinked up at him, sitting there on the floor, confused.

He turned away then, walking away for a moment. You didn`t get up, knowing that he wanted you to sit there, he wanted you to wait. However, you did take one longing look at the cabin door, it was only a few meters away, you could so easily run out it. But what good would that do? So instead, you waited for him to return.

What a mistake that was.

You heard it before you saw it, the sound of metal dragging across wood. Your eyes significantly widened as Toby came back into view, the handle of a large sledge hammer in hand.

“Now, I d-d-did warn you,” he placed a foot on your outstretched leg, holding it in place.

But you thought… wasn`t this all behind you now? He was still angry about the escape attempt. Surely, he understood you had no choice? He didn`t have to do this. Please, don`t do this.

“I won`t run!’ you quickly stammered, “I swear I won`t, I won`t leave, I could have run when you left, the door was right there but I didn`t!” you were practically hyperventilating, your heart hammering against your ribcage as you desperately pleaded. All the while you were squirming, try to pull your leg away, but his strength was fairly impressive. There was no way to escape, but you didn`t stop trying. You couldn`t get to your feet, you couldn`t claw away, and you couldn`t push him away. “We can do something else!” you tried to reason, “baby please,” yes, you even sunk low enough to call him a pet name in the hopes that it might click somewhere in his head. Needless to say, it didn`t. “There are other things you haven`t tried yet, let`s do that instead, please. Please, please, please! I won`t run, I won`t ever run from you again. I`ve learned my lesson, I know running’s pointless.”

He actually seemed to be thinking about it for a moment.

“If the others see you unharmed…” he reluctantly removed his foot and you quickly pulled your knees in, sitting up. He didn`t finish the sentence though, his eyes colder than ever as he looked you up and down. It wasn`t over, he was definitely going to do something, all you had managed to do was change what that something was.

He hummed, as if he was thinking over all the things he could do to you, trying to decide which one. It was unavoidable, you knew that much. He had to set an example, show the other psychos that he wasn`t soft. After a moment, he straightened up, offering you his hand. He knew what he was going to do, and you couldn`t decide whether taking his hand would improve or worsen things.

What choice did you have anyways?

You took the hand, his fingers briefly intertwining with yours as he lifted you onto your feet.

“Have y-you seen the up st-stairs yet?” he asked casually, calmly, as he ever so easily led you out of the living room and to a small staircase that indeed led to an upper level. You hesitantly followed him as he led the way up the stairs, each step creaking as you walked onto it. Had he perhaps changed his mind? Maybe he was going to take you to the bedroom to continue what he wasn`t able to finish that night in the motel?

He stopped at the top of the stairs, waiting for you to join him before taking your hand in his. His fingers were ice cold but you didn`t dare attempt to pull away as his other hand came up to your face, pressing into your jaw. He was leaning in and you expected him to kiss you, but instead he just watched his fingers as they trailed along your neck.

“They need to see you bruised and battered,” his voice was fairly quiet now, a little sensual actually. Were your sexy times about to take a rough turn? He had said bruised and battered after all. You were just about to voice your concern when he gave you a small, sympathetic smile. His hand suddenly tightened around your neck, easily pushing you backwards as your feet slipped from under you, your arms flailing in attempt to grab something as he let you go. Your fingers barely brushed the railing but you weren`t able to grab on. The stairs were hard, sharp and wooden, and you felt every tumble and crack until your consciousness failed you. The last thing you felt was the back of your head slam against the wooden floor below, blood filling your vision as the ringing in your ears slowly tuned out the world.

Was this what dying felt like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really appreciated the feedback lately, it`s quite heartwarming to see how invested you guys are in this story and I`ll do my best to keep it top-notch for you. Sorry for such a filler chapter, I`ll spice things up next chapter, which, yes, will be on Friday. 
> 
> Then again I say Friday, but I don`t update until 2am so it`s technically Saturday? Feels like Friday though, oh well.


	15. One Bottle of Beer Goes a Long Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to sleep Friday afternoon after school and didn`t wake up until Saturday morning so that`s why I never uploaded... don`t blame me, blame my sleeping habits.

Waking up to find yourself still on the floor was what solidified just how alone you were. The part of you that thought Toby cared in some shape, way or form died the moment you felt the dried blood under your head, reddening your hair. You left a puddle on the floor, a wet, sticky puddle that you slipped in the first time you tired to get up. Now on your knees, you saw the bruises on your arms and legs, and with each discovery the pain kicked in. It was a heavy, aching pain, the type that settled into your flesh and burned. It was hard to see, it was dark actually, the light that once emanated from the door turned to darkness, giving way to slight hints of moonlight.

You attempted to stand up, but your ankle immediately gave way and you found yourself on the floor for the third time, your hands landing face down in the puddle of blood. How had you not bled to death? Luck probably. Some luck that was.

He left you here.

He didn`t even bother carrying you onto the couch. No, he just left you here.

What were you supposed to do now? It hurt to move. You couldn`t move. You didn`t want to move.

A list of priorities came to mind, the logical, well thought out part of you told you to get up, go wash yourself off, get a drink, eat something, go rest somewhere. But you didn`t act on any of these impulses, only finding the strength in yourself to crawl away from the stairs and towards the living rooms couch. Your arms strained as you put weight on them, threatening to crack as you gritted your teeth, letting out a small cry when your ankle hit the floor too hard. The feeling of carpet under your hands gave you a firmer grip, and you quietly noted the bloody handprints you left as you yanked yourself onto the couch, slowly turning onto your back before sighing out in relief.

You were lucky not to have suffered brain injuries. You were lucky that a couple of bruises and a sprained ankle was all you had endured. Lucky. You didn`t feel lucky.

Laying there, you stared up at the ceiling, the pain in your body was overloading your head, each nerve trembling as it delivered message after message to the brain. All saying the same thing, ‘do something, it hurts.’ You closed your eyes, clenching them tight as you exhaled sharply. It didn`t lessen the pain. Instead the world just seemed blurrier as you opened your eyes. What were you going to do now? How were you going to get out of this? A plan, you needed a plan.

It was impossible to think with such a splitting headache, but there was nothing else you could do. You need to keep busy right now. Try to distract yourself from the pain. So, think, scheme, plot, plan. Toby, Jeff, Jack, Tim, they could all be killed. But how? Maybe you could burn them, you hadn`t tried that. Bullets and knives are out of the question. Drowning maybe? What about decapitation? Suffocation? Electrocution? Then again, how would you ever overpower Toby? How would you ever overpower any of them? Impossible.

What about seduction? It didn`t matter anymore though. You had successfully seduced the man, yet it didn`t seem to be doing anything for your health. It didn`t matter if he liked you, which he did, it wouldn`t stop him from hurting you. You didn`t fear his death threats, he wouldn`t kill you, he hadn`t killed you yet. But how could you live like this? How would you ever return to normalcy?

Unless you could kill him, there only was one other way.

You had to change him. He once told you he wasn`t here by choice, he clearly doesn`t enjoy his job, he clearly doesn`t want to do any of this. Maybe you could loosen the bonds that kept him tied to his duty. Maybe you could make him want to leave all this behind. Maybe he`d take you with him. Maybe.

The door opened.

“Where`d she go?” you heard Tim say, his passive-aggressive voice ever so familiar.

“Follow the blood,” Toby mumbled, and you heard his footsteps as he walked right past you, instead heading into the kitchen. The kitchen light flicked on and you saw Toby, covered from head to toe in blood, a certain tiredness in his face as he gave you the briefest glance before moving deeper into the kitchen. You heard the fridge open, but you didn`t hear Tim as he walked over to the couch, his mask hovering over it as he peered down at you. There was no shock or fear in your eyes as you stared at him. You were in too much pain to fear him, and he saw that as he turned away from you.

He joined Toby in the kitchen and you heard the fridge close, something was set on the dining table, a chair was pulled, and someone slumped into it. Things were quiet for a mere moment before a cabinet closed, more footsteps until Toby walked around the couch and sat down on the coffee table across from the you.

“Can you sit up?” he asked, setting a beer bottle beside him as he opened a bottle of Advil in his hand. He finally popped the lid, slipping two painkillers into his hand before turning to you. He slipped in three more before closing the bottle. The blood on his hands were smeared on the pills now.

You didn`t answer him, maybe you were too weak, or maybe you despised him too much at the moment. He frowned at that but instead of leaving, he gently slipped a hand under your back, slowly pulling you up. Your bruised body ached at the movement, a sharp exhale escaping your lips as you roughly grabbed his hand for support. He held you there before moving his other hand towards your mouth, you decided to open up, allowing him to drop the pills in. He used the same hand to grab the bottle, bringing it to your lips and tipping it to an angle. The beer felt cold and smooth as it eased down your throat. A little alcohol would help with the pain, the first few sips were already beginning to give you a buzz.

He eased you down onto the couch before getting up and heading back to the kitchen. The blood from his jeans had seeped into the table. You briefly wondered what he had been up to but knowing him it couldn`t have been anything good. Deciding not to think about it, you closed your eyes again, hoping the pills and alcohol would kick in soon.

“Does she kn-kno-know a-anything?” you heard Toby ask, he was now back in the kitchen and you heard a chair pull up before someone sat down.

“Dunno,” Tim responded, you heard him stretching, “Can`t make much out between her screaming and crying.”

“M-ma-maybe if you stop torturing her for a minute…”

“Where`s the fun in that?” Tim`s tone could be best described as an amused sneer, aggressive yet entertained, “We pulled out her fingernails, she wouldn`t shut up about it though so we smashed her fingers in. That shut her up. For an hour. Then she woke up again. I usually don`t give a fuck if they scream all day and night, but this bitch, fuck, her screams are so shrill, I`ll go deaf.”

“Right…” Toby sounded surprisingly uncomfortable, almost disgusted. “And Claire?”

“Jeff got her,” Tim paused, as if taking a shot at his drink before continuing, “They had history as ya know, so he did what he does best with women that piss him off. Put her out of her misery yesterday, died from the internal bleeding.”

Toby didn`t say anything, the next minute passed in silence, your light breathing the only thing you could hear.

“And what about your bitch?” Tim`s voice broke the silence.

“S-sh-she can hear us you know,” was Toby`s mellow response.

“So, you scared?” Tim asked, almost jokingly. Almost. “C`mon man, tell me?”

“I spent an eternity following orders,” Toby finally answered, his voice quiet. “I`m bored, I`m tired. This is fun, this is new.”

“Whatever does it for ya,” Tim mumbled, taking another swig of his drink, “jus` don`t let it get you all soft again.”

“R-right.”

Tim said something more, but you couldn`t quite make it out. 

“He said that?” you heard Toby say.

“He`s in country actually,” Tim responded, “She`s the reason af-

The rest blurred out. As a matter of fact, you were beginning to feel dizzy, the pain now almost numb as a sloppy sensation replaced it.

“I have an idea for-

“He`s a bad target-

“She doesn`t know about-

You understood little bits and pieces of their conversation, but your mind wasn`t working anymore. Finally, the alcohol and painkillers reached their crescendo, your eyes rolling back into your head as you fell unconscious yet again.

At this point you were getting quite tired of waking up. Then again, maybe sleeping throughout most of this was a small mercy. Some things were better left off being unconscious for. So, with that thought in mind, you stretched your legs out, feeling the plush mattress underneath you, the sheets twisted in between your legs. The bed was warm, not too warm, but just the perfect amount. The air around you was cold, the mattress contrasting it. Everything about the bed encouraged sleep, and you`d happily drop into another few hours of slumber if it wasn`t for the pain.

You glanced around, blinking the sleep from your eyes and pushing the white sheets away from your face. There were nightstands on either side of the bed and sitting on the one nearest you was an open bottle of Advil and a glass of water.

Another small mercy.

You downed the pills before rolling back into the sheets, sighing as you waited for the painkillers to take effect. You assumed you had another half hour of suffering before you`d be put out of your misery. Had Toby moved you to the bed? What a bipolar douchebag. Decided to leave you on the floor after pushing you down the stairs, but decided now to give you a little comfort? God, you were craving a little vengeance. How`d he like being pushed down a staircase? Or how about a cliff instead?

Man, all this suffering was making you bipolar too.

“Good morning,” you recognized his voice as he opened the door, closing it behind himself before walking over to you ever so casually, in no rush whatsoever. His hair was wet, he had a fresh-looking, orange V-neck shirt on and what appeared to be flannel pajamas. Had he just gotten out of bed, or a shower? Who knew. “T-th-they ha-have a nice house, don`t they?” he mumbled before slouching down onto the bed, using his arm for support before reaching into his pajamas pockets and pulling out a granola bar. He placed it on the nightstand beside you.

You didn`t make a move to get it, you were probably hungry, but right now the pain was making it impossible to indulge in your appetite. You`d probably save it for after the painkillers kicked in.

“You`re n-n-not s-saying anything,” he sighed. Sighed. How dare the bastard sigh? Acting as if he was the miserable one? He has no right to be upset, not when you`re the one with the sprained ankle and a bruise on every inch of your body.

“I understand your anger…” his hand came to rest at the side of your head, supporting his arm as he leaned over you. If he leaned in a little lower he`d be kissing you again, but instead he used his free hand to move a few loose strands of hair away from your face. Something instinctive inside you kicked in, something that seemed to have been dormant the last few times he`d been so close. The moment his fingers touched your face was the moment you backhanded him so hard that your hand actually hurt after.

“Maybe anger isn`t the right word,” was his smartass response as he pulled away, his hand coming up to rub his jaw.

Surprisingly, you weren`t afraid of him right now. What more could he do? At this point you didn`t think you were capable of caring. However, he didn`t seem at all interested in hurting you. Instead he seemed to be staring from where he sat, his hand still on his jaw as he just looked at you. There was something there, something dark in his eyes. Lust maybe? Geez, really? Was a slap to a face a turn on for the fucking bastard? You probably looked like crap right now anyways.

“Well…” he seemed to be thinking before he stood up, “Let me h-help you get cleaned up?” he offered, asking permission as he extended his hand to you. The last time you took his hand, you ended up at the bottom of a staircase. But he probably had a point. Getting cleaned up would help start the healing process. But fuck that, fuck him, you didn`t want to go anywhere with the monster.

“Go to hell,” you whispered the words, your voice unable to manage the confidence to scream it like you wanted.

He said nothing for a good while before leaning back onto the bed, laying down beside you, tilted on his side. Almost immaturely, you rolled over, facing the other direction.

“Listen…” he sounded almost amused this time. “You k-kn-know I d-don`t enjoy any of this. For some reason you understand that part of me, so, take my word for i-i-it… I hurt you because if I didn`t, they would.”

As much as you hated to admit it, that made sense. Him pushing you down those stairs was the lesser of two evil.

“This could be… _fun_.” his tone held a certain uncertainty, “if you let it.”

You didn`t know what to say.

Toby gave you a few more moments before you felt his weight disappear from the bed. Was that it? Had he given up? You were about to turn back around when you were lifted up into his arms, instinctively your hands grabbed his shirt for balance. You noticed the slight smile on his face as he carried you away from the bed and to the door against the wall, probably a washroom. You`d have fought back but honestly, there was no point, and so you slumped in his arms in defeat

“I hate you,” you mumbled in a rather angsty fashion as he eased the door open, placing you on the counter beside the sink. He turned on the shower, and almost immediately the room began to steam up.

“Can you manage on your own?” was all he asked.

You doubted it, you were quite sure you`d fall over if you attempted to stand up, but you weren`t about to say that. So instead, you stared down at the ground, not saying anything. He seemed to understand as he walked back to the counter, directly in front of you.

“May I help you?” his hands had hooked themselves to the side of your pants, dark eyes burning into yours as the bastard actually had the nerve to ask for permission. Acting all polite, as if it mattered to him, as if it mattered at all. You would truly never understand his game. However, in between all your pain, you were able to remember your new plan. Get him onto your side, make him leave. Yes, he liked you, but could you make him fall in love? Make him leave everything for a regular life?

Honestly, at this point, you`d much rather kill him.

“No ones stopping you,” was your sassy reply.

“Very true,” he easily undid the button of your pants, letting them slide right off. You were now able to see the extent of your fall, parts of your legs had become purple and blue, a dried-up gash ran along your thigh, almost matching the scar Jeff had left all that time ago. You felt cool fingers at your waist as he lifted up the shirt, and you reluctantly held your hands up so he could take it off. Your clothes were now a pile on the floor.

“The lady that lived here has a closet filled with your size,” Toby explained before lifting you right up and transitioning you into the tub. The water was hot, but just like always, that first blast of hard water was therapeutic and refreshing in the best way. The pressure hurt your battered legs, but the pain was worth the sensation.

“You killed her,” you said once you were able to think again.

He didn`t say anything to that, simply standing there, leaning against the sink.

“For someone who doesn`t like killing you sure do it a lot,” you added bitterly.

No answer, in fact he seemed to look guilty as he turned away from you, staring at a wall. His guilt made you feel slightly satisfied as you reached for the shampoo that sat at the edge of the tub. You even noticed the curtain and used your free hand to pull it up the furthest you could reach from where you sat. The shampoo burned where you had hit you head, your fingers bloody as you pulled away. You`d have freaked out if you weren`t so used to it.

“You say you don`t want any of this… all this killing,” you continued, “but you apparently have to, right?”

“Yeah,” you heard him say from across the curtain.

“What happens if you don`t?”  you asked as you rinsed off the shampoo, it smelt like vanilla.

“I don`t know.”

“Have you, um, ever considered finding out?”

No answer, another dead end, he was always picky about the questions he answers.

“A normal life isn`t so bad you know,” you said rather innocently, trying not to sound as manipulative as you felt, “a wife or husband, a few kids, a dog too, you need to have a dog. Buy yourself a nice suburban house in a little town, have a neighbour you hate. I mean, I never wanted that, I had all these ambitious dreams, a glorious career, Chris Hemsworth as my husband, mansion on the beach side. But right now, mundane and normal just sounds amazing, don`t you think?”

No answer.

“Come on, I know you think about it,” you took a guess as you now worked the soap off your body, at this point the painkillers had kicked in and you felt no pain as you rubbed your fingers over the bruised skin. Even when you were done, you decided to just sit there and feel the water. You briefly wondered how your family was doing, how your friends were? Did they think you were dead?

“Do you think I could ever have normal?” you mumbled.

Nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking something sexual for the next chapter, already have a few ideas. Can`t wait, see you guys then!  
> Oh and of course leave me a comment while you`re here.


	16. Rewarding Good Behavior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`m loving this feedback and all the conversations we`re engaging in, great stuff and you guys clearly have a lot of good ideas. I won`t say too much because I don`t wanna give away any spoilers, but hopefully I`ll make you all happy. For now at least.  
> Happy readings~

You were never one for floral dresses, there wasn`t anything wrong with them of course but they simply weren`t practical in the city. However, you weren`t in the city anymore. You weren`t even sure where you were. What you did know was that this floral dress fitted you perfectly, suited you very nicely too, and once belonged to a dead woman. One that was alive only days ago, one that lived in the middle of freezing Canada yet only had floral dresses in her wardrobe. She must have been very fun at parties. But now she was probably buried in the backyard somewhere, in a floral dress under layers of snow.

The very thought made you shiver.

The woman had a completely color coordinated kitchen, the bowls were all orange, the plates white with yellow flowers, the glasses thankfully were simply glass. Even her fridge seemed extremely colorful, all the green vegetables in one section, the white bottles in another, anything red on the top shelf. Thankfully that made it quite easy to locate a red bottle of pasta sauce, barely used but used nonetheless.

It felt kind of odd, cooking in another woman’s kitchen, even worse considering that woman was now dead. But there was no point in you starving over it, even if it made you feel sick to your stomach, you`d power through. And so, with that mentality you added a few spoonful’s of the pasta sauce onto the pan, stirring the macaroni you had boiled moments ago. There was a time when you enjoyed cooking, when you would seek out recipes for the sheer pleasure of creating and eating them. Then school came along and killed every hobby you ever had. There was no time to enjoy life when you were far too busy with academics.  

So, if there was a silver lining to your kidnapping ordeal, it was that at least you got to indulge in your hobbies.

With the painkillers providing you support, you found it much easier to walk on your ankle. In fact, you barely felt any pain as you sampled the pasta. It tasted bland and doughy. Perhaps you needed to work a little harder on your hobby. Now where had you gone wrong? You had followed the instructions to the letter. Just in case, you picked up the pasta box and re-read the back of it. Yep, you had done precisely as asked, yet here you were with raw, tasteless pasta. Should have known better than trying something so fancy. Well, boxed pasta really isn`t that fancy.

Oh well.

You turned off the stove, deciding you really weren`t chef material as you opened a pantry and found the peanut butter you had remembered seeing there. Apparently, you`d have to settle for the classics, and so you took out a knife and began smoothing the butter over some bread. Every time you held a knife, you`d briefly consider all the things you could do with it. Then you`d remember how pointless all of them would be. Sighing, you bit into the sandwich. Even it seemed to taste bland and somehow raw. You were pretty sure that was impossible though.

Deciding to blame it all on your psyche, you forced the sandwich down your throat, standing in the kitchen with the plate in hand as you glanced over. The kitchen had no door, instead there was a very large opening in the wall that connected it with the living room. This gave you a perfect view of a dozing Toby, the TV was running, Winter Olympics by the looks of it. Apparently, the figure skaters had put him to sleep.

After some quick debating you decided to go join him on the couch, maybe a little TV would help you find your groove. With sandwich in hand, you turned off the kitchen lights before quietly tiptoeing over to the couch. He was a light sleeper from what you gathered, and so you were pretty sure he noticed you but chose not to do or say anything as you lifted his legs onto your lap so you could sit. You continued to eat the sandwich, watching the figure skaters as you internally wondered how you could be so terrified yet comfortable in the presence of a killer. Maybe it was because you knew you were safe for the time being. Still, you should hate him. You do hate him, right?

Turns out the pretty music and elegant skaters were quite adept at putting people to sleep. With no sandwich left to occupy you, the sensation of sleep began to sneak in. You`d probably have given in if the doorbell hadn`t rung. There was a doorbell?

Toby was on his feet in a literal second, still looking pretty exhausted as he headed over to the door. The couch was practically across from the door, and so you turned around and leaned over so you could see. He casually matted down his tousled hair before opening the door. Who was it this time? Was he expecting Tim? Was it one of the others? Hopefully not Jeff. Maybe it was the police? Yeah, no way.

“Oh… hello?” it was a woman, dressed from head to toe in snow gear, a covered tray in her hands. Behind her was a man, a large hunters rifle strung across his shoulder. You had never seen them before, and by the looks of it, neither had Toby. Still, he seemed to keep his composure.

“C-can I help you?” he asked rather politely, looking the right amount of concerned.

The woman and man seemed to exchange confused glances before the woman`s eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, you must be Nora`s nephew!” she declared, sounding far too excited now, “you look just like she described. Mark, right?”

“Y-y-yeah, it`s nice to meet you...?” he faked a smile, shaking the woman`s hand.

“Annie,” she introduced herself, “and this is my husband Joseph, don`t mind his gun, he`s been looking forward to hunting with Daniel all week.”

“Ah, I`m sorry but Uncle Daniel broke his leg yesterday,” it was almost disgusting watching how easily Toby got into character and began lying. Disgusting but intriguing. “Aunt Nora`s staying with h-him in the h-hospital. She must`ve forgot to tell you in her panic.”

“Oh God!” Annie looked horrified, “How`d it happen?”

“Tumble down the stairs,” he said without any hesitation.

“Oh, that stupid man, I always told him ‘Daniel you watch your step, don`t rush.’ Kept actin` like he was way younger than he was. God bless him, will he be okay?”

Toby only nodded.

“Well you must be so lonely all alone `ere,” the woman seemed to invite herself in as she walked right past Toby and into the house, “Luckily I brought some casserole, let me get you a plate honey.” The man followed suit, pausing to hug Toby as if they were old friends, calling him son before walking into the house.

“Oh, and who`s this?” Annie asked, walking over into the kitchen and placing the tray on the table before jogging back into the living room to shake your hand. These people were extremely friendly, and you supposed you liked it. Now the only issue was that Toby would probably kill them. The should have left the first chance they got.

“Son?” Annie turned to look at him, waiting for him to introduce you. Toby genuinely seemed lost.

“I`m Kathy,” you picked the first name that came to mind, “I`m his…?”

“Wife?” Toby offered.

“Wife.” You agreed, acting casual.

“You sound unsure,” Joseph laughed, placing his gun against the wall.

“It`s very new,” you explained.

“That explains why Nora never mentioned anythin` `bout you being married Mark.”

Toby only nodded.

He seemed to act well but you noticed the way he was looking around, searching for a weapon, for his weapons. He probably wasn`t expecting anything like this, his weapons were most likely upstairs. For the moment he was dressed in plain clothes, and the other man had a gun mere inches away, not that it mattered much.

“Excuse me,” Toby moved away from the woman, smoothly heading upstairs.

“So, where you from dear?” Annie asked, she was in the kitchen now, opening up the tray. Now that smelt amazing, far better than your failed attempt at pasta.

“Um, Argentina.” Okay, maybe you weren`t as good at lying as Toby was. Why the fuck did Argentina come to mind? Where even was Argentina? You probably didn`t even look Argentinian.

“Oh… how… exotic.” Annie didn`t press further as she seemed to know exactly where the knives and plates were.

“Hate these damn `lympics.” Joseph grumbled as plopped down on the couch. “Show me the real sports, not these frilly skaters.”

“Don`t mind him, tell me, how are you liking Nora`s house?”

“Oh it`s… really… quaint?” God, why were you being so awkward. Maybe it was because you knew they were about to die in a few minutes. “Were you guys really close?”

“Oh, me and Nora practically grew up together, best friends and all,” Annie explained, now stripping off her jacket and putting it in the closet. She knew exactly where the closet was too. “We must look crazy to you, jus` barging in here. I`m sorry, I really am, it`s jus` a habit y`know? Her house is my house and my house is her house. We were jus` so close, I hope it ain`t odd for you kids.”

“N-not at all,” you managed a smile, moving away from the couch and simply standing there in the middle of the living room. Your gaze couldn`t help but wander to the stairs. “Um, I`ll be right back, excuse me.”

“We won`t steal anything, take your time,” Joseph chuckled.

You carefully walked up the stairs, nervous that you might slip and find yourself at the bottom again. Your hands didn`t leave the railing until you reached the top. One of the bedroom doors were opened, and you peaked in to see Toby digging around the closet.

“Have you seen my duffel bag?” he mumbled as you walked in.

“You`re gonna kill them?” you asked, sounding as nervous as you felt.

“D-don`t h-have a choice,” he paused in his searching to turn and look at you. “What happens if they come back again in a few days and _Nora_ and _Daniel_ still aren`t here?”

“I don`t know,” you sighed, he had a point. Still, too many people had died already, you weren`t sure if your conscious could bare another. Those two were annoyingly eccentric, but they didn`t deserve to die. You walked into the room, closing the door behind you. “Don`t kill them please.”

“It`s not a matter of choice,” was his bleak answer as he returned to his searching.

“Toby,” You said his name a little forcefully, and he stopped in his searching once again.

“I don`t have a-

“Just, hear me out?” you asked, and he seemed to comply, rolling his eyes before closing the closets door and heading over to you. He was intimidatingly close, standing with his arms folded as he waited to ‘hear you out’.

“You don`t like killing,” you spoke softly, slowly, in an almost tantalizing manner. “you`d rather not do it, so, here`s your chance. Just let them go this one time, there`s no harm in that. If they come back again, and only if, then you can kill them. That sound`s fair, right? This way you don`t have to kill unless you actually have to. Please, for me?”

He frowned at that, cold, brown eyes staring into yours. You could already feel the ‘no’ coming, he wasn`t buying it. So, regrettably you moved a little closer, using his shoulder for balance as you leaned in and whispered in your sultriest voice, “I`d be really, really grateful.”

You then pulled away and tried not to let the burning embarrassment show on your face. Did you just solicit sex to save lives?

“Fine,” was all he said as he opened the door and left the room, sounding almost irritated. Wow, you felt like a strange mixture of badass and ashamed, but there was definitely a hint of pride in there too. It felt good to save a life, even if the means were absolutely awful, it still felt pretty good, and with that in mind you made your way back downstairs.

Having dinner with two of the worlds friendliest strangers was actually quite fun. Given you probably had far more fun than Toby, who understandably just sat there at the table quietly, faking polite smiles and nodding along with the conversation. Annie and Joseph were very talkative, they had far too many stories to tell and you were personally grateful to have a conversation with someone who wasn`t a wanted serial killer.

“So, Daniel told me the gun was a thousand percent loaded,” Joseph had both his hands out on the table, making crazy gestures as he told the story, “So, being the idiot I am, I trusted the damn fool and crawled up to the bear. It had sure as hell noticed me but hadn`t ran off yet, curious little sucker. I pointed the gun at it… took a deep breath and… nothing, it wasn`t loaded. I never ran faster in my life.”

Everyone but Toby laughed, it really wasn`t a funny story but these people had such a homey sense about them, you couldn`t help but go along with it.

“Well we best be movin` on,” Annie got up from her seat and rounded the table, stacking plates on plates before dropping them by the sink. “Can I help you clean these Kathy?”

“Oh, no, that`s totally fine,” you got up from your seat now too, wiping your hands off with a paper towel before picking up the remaining dishes and adding them to the sink. You`d do them eventually. “Thank you for lunch,” you now turned your attention to Annie, reaching to shake her hand but instead receiving a hug as she grabbed onto you.

“You`re welcome dear, I had fun, didn`t you have fun Joseph?’”

“I`ll have more fun once Dan`s outta the hospital,” was Josephs response as he too got up and gave Toby another hug before heading over to get his own jacket out from the closet.

“Have Nora call us once he`s home, we`ll all have to celebrate,” Annie said before heading over to join her husband.

The moment the two were out of the kitchen was the moment Toby leaned back in his chair, giving you an almost pleading look. You couldn`t help but laugh a little, still smiling as you headed over to see them out the door. Annie was putting on her shoes as you held the door open for her, not minding the cold, snowy winds that greeted you.

“You two have a lovely night, I`m sure I`ll see you soon,” Annie said as she finished strapping her shoes on. Shortly after you closed the door to find the cabin had once again gone quiet. They`d be seeing you again soon, which meant he`d kill them soon. You sighed, the smile leaving your face now. What could you possibly do then? Well, dwelling on it now wasn`t going to help anyone. You`d just have to figure it out when time comes.

“I`ve never hated two people so much,” Toby grumbled, now behind you as he leaned against the back of the couch. “One more hunting story and I would have had to kill him.”

“Well I`m glad you didn`t,” yeah, maybe you actually were a little grateful. “Thank you.”

Did he just smile?

“T-this is t-the part I act all humble and say it was nothing, r-right?”

You weren`t entirely sure why you did what you did next, maybe it was because you wanted to express how grateful you were, maybe it was all for some far more manipulative plan, or maybe just maybe, you liked him a little too. Just a little though, barely enough to be concerned about. Either way, you took his hand and led him around the couch. He followed along, not saying a word as you pushed him down onto the couch. This was wrong on so many levels, he was a serial killer, a monster, he had hurt and abused you in so many ways, he had killed people you cared about.

But for the first time in a long time, he had spared someone. All because you asked him too, all for you. Keeping the monster on your side was definitely the best thing to do. Keeping him happy and compliant would not only save you, but maybe others in the long run. And maybe, just maybe, you could get him to leave it all behind, leave all this madness and killing behind.

You were curled up in his lap now, kissing him so easily, so casually, after all you had done it so often. The ambiance in the room was nice, the only light coming from the kitchen and the moonlight that slipped through the windows. The smell of casserole didn`t exactly help the atmosphere but it didn`t bother you as you ran a hand through his hair, a little too sweetly. God, what had they put in that casserole? You must be drunk on something because your affection towards him didn`t make any sense.

Perhaps you were the bipolar one.

This monster had cut off your finger, he had slapped you across the face, he had thrown you down a staircase. Yet, here you were, kissing him like your life depended on it. Well, in a sense it actually did. After all this monster had also protected you from Jeff on multiple occasions, had saved your life, and even though you were a prisoner, he had treated you with the most respect and care. Just imagine being imprisoned by Jeff, Jack, or even Tim for that matter. Compared to them Toby was a mercy and you were aware of that, you were even thankful.

You pulled away from his arms and he let you, simply watching as you turned your attention to the buttons of his pants. Ah, this was a terrible idea. Terrible, stupid, drunken idea. Who the hell puts alcohol in casserole? I mean, clearly you must be under some influence, nothing else would make sense. Swallowing all those mixed emotions, you gave his pants a little tug and he immediately straightened up.

“W-what a-are you doing?” even though he was asking, he took charge and removed your hands, easily undoing the buttons of his pants and kicking them off. Clearly, he was curious.

“Well, I, um, just wanna show you how grateful I am.” you sounded nervous, not at all sexy or sultry. “Maybe show you that sparing lives gets you a lot more than you think,” as if to emphasis your point, your hand found its way into his boxers, your fingers wrapping around his cock. Wow, did you just do that? Did you actually just do that? Damn, you were beginning to get brave. He seemed equally surprised, his dark eyes widening for a moment before he shuffled backwards.

“I…” he seemed genuinely flustered, you don`t remember ever seeing him this hesitant. However, his nerves just seemed to make you feel more confident.

“It`s only fair,” you were now beginning to get that sexy tone, low and breathy, just like in the movies. You could pretend you knew what you were doing, play the role of seductive victim. Fake it until you make it, right? “I mean, you did do the same for me,” your fingers now hooked around his boxers, tugging them down as well. You were just glad the darkness of the room hid your embarrassment.

At this point you had given up on any logical thinking, just going with the flow, sinking down to your knees between his legs. It`s all part of some plan, was what you told yourself as you pushed his shirt up a little, leaning down and kissing his waist. He was very toned, deep, muscular v-lines marked his sides and you shamelessly nibbled at each one, your tongue trailing down his hips just the way he had once done to you. His breath hitched the moment your tongue came in contact with his now semi-hard cock, he even sat up a little before sinking back into the couch.

Alright, maybe watching him squirm was a lot of fun.

So, with that in mind you trailed his length with your tongue, licking all sorts of shapes as you held it up with you hand, your fingers absentmindedly stroking him. Well, at this point you had no shame left to lose. He groaned as you brought your mouth around the tip of his cock, sucking in an almost playful manner, watching the way his fingers dug into the armrests of the couch.

“You`re a fucking tease,” he practically growled the words out and you were quite certain you had never heard him sound so irritated before. As if his tone wasn`t evidence enough, you felt his other hand around your head, his fingers intertwining with your hair as he pulled your mouth further up his cock. Apparently being submissive doesn`t sit well with him. You struggled at first but quickly grew accustomed to having so much of him down your throat. With saliva as the only form of lube, your tongue continued to ease around him, your cheeks hollowing out in a sucking fashion. He wasn`t very vocal, but the unevenness in his breathing was your indication of a job well done.

It`s not like you were especially experienced in this department. So, you went off instincts, your lips gagging around him as you tried to figure out how to breathe around him. He didn`t stop you when you pulled away, gasping for air while he too began to regain his composure. Now you couldn`t have that, and so you took another deep breath before going down on him again, doubling your efforts as you licked, sucked and even moaned around his cock. His fingers dug into your hair, holding your head up before you felt the unfamiliar sensations of cum in your mouth. Not knowing what else to do, you tried to swallow, though some of it was probably trailing down your mouth. He released you and you found yourself on your hands and knees coughing, trying to regain the ability to breathe. You felt hot and dizzy, and the idea of having him between your legs didn`t sound so bad as you cleaned your mouth with the sleeves of the dress.

“S-sorry,” Toby`s sounded a little out of breath.

You weren`t exactly sure what to say, your instincts still seemed to be in charge as your crawled back up onto the couch. His arm came around you as you curled up beside him, breathing in that scent of smoke and sandalwood.

“You didn`t have to do that…” he whispered a moment later, sounding more relaxed and comfortable than he ever had before. But what surprised you more than that was the affection in his voice, his tone was almost loving, the way he pulled your head against his chest was gentle and sweet. His fingers were in your hair, playing with the strands in an all too familiar fashion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`m still polishing my ability to write sexual scenes, I used to do a lot of it years ago but it`s been a while so I`m sorry if it sucked, I`m still trying to get back in the groove of it. Anyways let me know what you guys think, not only of the sexy bits, but the chapter as a whole. Always looking to improve...  
> So, comment dammit <3


	17. An Uninvited Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday/Saturday :D

Every night since your abduction was spent in a dreamless state of mind, every sleep empty and dark. Tonight, was the exception. For the first time in a long time you woke up in the morning feeling a certain tingling sensation as you recalled the dream you just had. It was the type of dream that left you confused, dazed, frustrated, and unfortunately warm and almost happy. It left a fuzzy feeling inside you and even though you knew how demented it was, the feeling wouldn`t go away. Even now it was so clear in your head.

You were in a kitchen, looking cleaner and healthier than you had in ages. Your hair was tidy and done up, a long skirt hung around your legs, an apron on top. These weren`t the type of clothes you`d normally wear, yet there you were, bent over a sink, humming to yourself as you did dishes. No, this wasn`t normal at all, yet your dream-self seemed completely content with the warm coziness in the atmosphere.

A doorbell rung, and your dream-self immediately closed the sink, wiping her hands on her apron before turning around and walking out of the kitchen and towards the door. Now you were able to see how large the house was, suburban and well-decorated, almost perfect, almost familiar. You recalled the houses you used to dream up as a child, and this house in particular seemed like a complete replica. Your dream-self had almost reached the front door when a little boy beat her to it, a smaller girl trailing behind him.

“Dad`s home!” the boy grinned, opening the door as the little girl frantically tried to stand on her tippy toes and see over her brother`s shoulders. You took that moment to lean against the wall, hands in apron as Toby walked into the house, easily lifting up the boy. You had never seen him in a suit before, and dream-Toby seemed to do a fine job of pulling one off. He was saying something to the child, only pausing when the younger girl tugged at his pants. That`s when the warm feeling began to sink into your stomach, making you tingle from head to toe. Your eyes caught his for a brief moment and you smiled before walking back into the kitchen, leaving him to greet the children.

Dream time moved faster than regular time, but it still seemed too soon when he walked in behind you.

“Aren`t you gonna greet me?” he asked, his smile matching yours as he came to stand right beside you against the counter.

“Greetings and salutations,” was your dream-self’s smartass reply.

He rolled his eyes at that before leaning in for a kiss, one that your dream-self easily complied to giving.

“You need to take Troy to the dentist tomorrow,” you said as you pulled away and he immediately nodded along before trying to go in again. This time your dream-self decided to be a little more playful, leaning away and smiling in a rather enticing manner. He raised an eyebrow at that, loosening his tie before taking a few intimidating steps towards you.

And that was when you woke up, sitting on the couch, contemplating what you had just seen. God, what was wrong with you? What had happened last night? Where you in your right mind? It all felt so insane, so abnormal. This isn`t how a regular person should react yet you knew deep down you`d do it again in a heartbeat, and that, made you feel unbelievably guilty.

“Morning,” his voice broke you out of your little trance and you found yourself peering up as he came around and slumped down on the couch, setting a beer bottle on the coffee table. “H-how`d ya sleep?”

“Oh, uh…” how do you answer that? “You shouldn`t drink…” by avoiding the question of course.

He gave you a look before peering down at the bottle, clearly unamused. He was in different clothes now, his hair wet by the looks of it. The man was avid about showering, which didn`t surprise you considering the cleanliness of his washroom back when you stayed at the big house.

“My liver can manage,” was his reply.

“So, um,” why did you feel so embarrassed all of a sudden? You could practically feel the heat emanating off your cheeks as you nervously backed up into the couch, subconsciously licking your lips. Say something, anything. “So, you like oral.” Alright, maybe saying anything wasn`t the best idea.

“I like a lot of things,” his voice was a bit lower now, a little deeper too, shit, were you enticing him into another sexcapade? What`s worse was probably the fact that you wouldn`t mind. In fact, you could taste your response, the playful need to entice him further practically took control of you.

“I bet you do,” you practically purred back, vaguely remembered the concept of faking it until you made it, well, you certainly made it. From seductive manipulation to actual sexual interest. Man, you must have hit your head harder than you thought. The implications of your tone was what made you scoot away and straighten up, straightening out your dress as you tried to detach your actions from your thoughts.

He liked a lot of things, hmm? What exactly did that entail? He didn`t seem the sadist type, but then again at the same time he did. How rough could he possibly be? Well, probably very rough, but _would_ he want to? Would he like that? Or maybe he was very casual, so far, your sexual encounters with him had been rather casual. Well, you had learned how domineering he was, but what else would there be for you to learn? Would he tie you up? Choke you? Oh God, where the fuck was your mind running off to? All of this is so wrong.

“W-what`s on y-your mind?” his amused tone made you suspect he had a very good idea of what you were thinking about.

“Tim.”

The dark interest behind his eyes died in a mere second as he cleared his throat and looked away for a moment, “what?”

“I was just remembering that conversation you had with him a few days ago,” this question had been lingering in your mind for a while now, and so using it as an alibi right now wasn`t too far-fetched. “He talked about a girl.”

“E-ea-eavesdropping is rude,” was his sarcastic reply, and for a moment he said nothing more, but you simply matched his silence and waited expectantly. He sighed after a minute, giving you the explanation you wanted, “He`s interrogating the cop from the motel.”

Danvers. She was still alive? Well, if she was, she would probably be wishing she was dead. Though you were lucky enough to avoid Tim`s brand of violence, you were well-aware of how creative and sadistic the man could be. Poor, unfortunate Danvers. Your heart honestly went out to her.

“Is he going to kill her?” you asked after a silent, mournful moment.

Toby nodded.

Should you say something? Attempt to plea for Danvers life like you had for Annie and Josephs? For some reason you didn`t feel the same drive, the same motivation. Perhaps it was because she was a cop? Or perhaps because you knew you`d be pushing your luck. You knew Toby couldn`t let a cop go, not one that had so much dirt on him and his friends. No, Danvers was a lost cause, hopefully her death would be quick and painless, but knowing Tim, you doubted that.

“And Claire… she`s dead too?” you already knew the answer but for some reason you needed to hear it be said, you needed him to confirm it.

He only nodded again.

“Was it quick?” once again you knew the answer, yet here you were asking for the unspeakable details.

“Jeff took his time, r-really h-hated her.”

“Why?” now there was a question you didn`t have an answer too, “What did she ever do to any of you?”

“J-Jeff caught her fi-first,” Toby explained, “if he had killed her then, you`d never have been d-dragged into this. Your friend was clever, trapped Jeff in a bear trap after… four, five days with him, and escaped. G-guess he wanted to… even things out.”

You weren`t sure what to think. On the one side you were proud of Claire for outsmarting the madman. But on the other side, things would have been so much better if she failed. It was awful to say but at least that way she would have died much easier. At least that way you wouldn`t have been put through all this trauma. You felt like a horrible person as the thought settled into your stomach, if only Claire had died that night instead of escaped. You felt sick.

“Is that everything?” Toby had gotten up now and you noticed that he was wearing boots, winter boots at that too. Was he going somewhere? As if to confirm your suspicion, he moved to the kitchen where you noticed his duffel bag already laying on the table, his jacket hanging off the seat.

“I guess, wh-where are you going?” you were on your knees on the couch as you watched him pull on his jacket and almost smile before zipping it up.

“Hunting,” he responded.

“Now?”

“T-th-that`s the idea.”

“So, I`ll be here alone…?”

He nodded.

“You trust me not to run away?”

He nodded again before adding, “you know running away`s pointless, it`ll hurt you more than it`ll hurt me.”

You instinctively gulped, your body tensing up at the all too familiar threat.

He hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder before walking back over to you, standing at the edge of the sofa and simply looking down at you expectantly. Did he want a kiss goodbye? Yup, he definitely did. The bastard doesn`t deserve one. Then again, maybe he does? After all, he`s been relatively good. Ah, it didn`t matter, nothing mattered, just get it over with. Using your knees as leverage, you reached up and placed both hands on his shoulders, leaning in quickly for a short, warm kiss before he mumbled a “thank you” and pulled away. Moments later the main door was closed and you found yourself alone in the living room, feeling as if your dream had just come to reality.

You stood up immediately, the need to rinse out your mouth and potentially get some breakfast was the driving force as you ducked into the bathroom for a while. In an hour you were laying back on the couch, some homemade coffee in hand as you surfed the television. However, you weren`t really paying attention, your thoughts were too domineering for that.

So, you tried to sort out the mess that was in your head.

Were you beginning to develop Stockholm syndrome? Yes, probably, to some extent at least. But maybe that`s a good thing? Maybe these misplaced feelings of affection for Toby would save your life. But to what end? Maybe its just a hunch, but you were beginning to suspect that you`d never be able to get away from him. Even if you escaped all the horror and murder in his world, you`d never escape him. Maybe a future like the one in your dream was more likely than you expected.

Did you want that though?

Were you ready to give up normal life to be a monster’s plaything? Even if the monster is kind to you, even if he is reasonable and compassionate. Even then. That doesn`t make the things he`s done okay. That doesn`t cancel out all the people he`s hurt, all the people he`s killed. Could you ever love someone like that? Even if your survival depended on it?

And who`s to say this kind streak of his is going to last? You`ve seen him jump sides plenty of time. He was fairly kind during your stay at the mansion too, that was until you`re little disagreement, then he was violent. Who`s to say you won`t disagree again? You aren`t the same people, you don`t think or act like him. You aren`t okay with death, with murder, with his _hunting_ trips. Ignorance could only last so long. Sooner or later you`d say something, you`d argue, you`d fight, and you`d get hurt.

You now realized how hopeless your situation was, no matter what happens next, a happy ending didn`t exist. Maybe you`d live a lot longer, but you`d never be happy, you`d never be free of him.

The Discovery Channel was playing when the cabins door opened, and you casually glanced over, expecting to see Toby. Instead you weren`t quite sure how to react when you saw a different person altogether walk into the house. Had Toby given him a key? Or perhaps the door wasn`t locked to begin with?

At first, he didn`t seem to notice you, his mask pulled up over his hair, a bottle of beer in hand. These idiots needed to stop drinking all the time. However, instead of giving him your alcohol pep talk, you decided to duck your head lower, hoping he wouldn`t notice you. It seemed to be working, as he sloppily walked into the house before dropping something, something heavy and loud.

“Toby!” the man yelled, glancing around, “Where the fucks your shovel?” He walked into the kitchen before returning and heading for the stairs instead. If he came down the stairs he`d for sure see you, the couch faced the staircase after all. So, you quietly left your mug on the coffee table, sliding off the couch and trying to think. The prospect of facing Tim without Toby`s presence terrified you, but it wasn`t like you had planned for this. There really were no good hiding places? Maybe you should go outside, sure beats staying in the house with him.

With that in mind, you kept your eyes on the stairs as you quietly tip toed to the doorway he had left open. Perhaps you should have been watching where you were going instead because you didn`t quite see the garbage bag on the floor until you tripped over it, falling hard onto the ground. You turned around quickly, your eyes falling on the bag which you had torn from your fall. Through the rips you were able to see pale flesh, hanging limply.

A body.

Danvers.

Your hand came to your mouth as you tried not to freak out.

“Trying to escape?” Tim was walking down the stairs now, dark eyes burning into your stumbling form as you scrambled onto your feet.

“No, of course not,” you said quickly.

“Where`s your keeper?” he was now a meter away, closing the main door before turning back to you, arms folding over his chest. Was Toby your keeper now?

For some reason telling him Toby was off hunting felt like a bad idea, “he went for a walk, clearing his head or something, he said he`d be back in a bit.”

“Funny, was hopin` to catch him before he went hunting. Boss gave him an assignment today.”

Busted.

You weren`t sure what to say to that, so you shrugged casually, managing the most awkward smile as you took a few uncertain steps back.

“You look good,” he either didn`t see or care about your discomfort as he stepped uncomfortably close, his hand closing around your face as he tugged it closer. “He hasn`t been hurtin` you?” he twisted your face this way and that, as if searching for a scar that didn`t exist. “The fuck does he see in you?” At this point his fingers were digging painfully into your cheeks, and though you attempted to pull away his grip only seemed to tighten. “Is it the sex? Is that it? You`re not even that pretty.” He finally let you go and your hands immediately came to cradle your now aching jaw.

Fucking douchebag.

“Maybe I should do him a favour,” he was talking to himself now, dark eyes on the floor as he paced around. You now noticed the bloodstains on his tan jacket, the rips and tears, as if someone had clawed at him, as if someone had so desperately fought for their life. You glanced at the body bag, fought and lost. “Kill you now, save him the time. You`re makin` him soft. I mean, he was always a fuckin softie, but it never got in the way of his work like this. The boss man doesn`t like you much either. Heh, not as much as Jeff though. He`s comin` y`know?” the man seemed to stop pacing now, looking almost thoughtful as he scanned the room. “He`s pissed you`re still alive, said he`d kill ya himself. Who`d ya prefer? Me or Jeff?”

Now that`s a thinker.

“Look, Tim,” you tried to fake a look of confidence, your arms wrapping around yourself almost protectively. “Buddy, I`d rather not die to be completely honest, and I don`t think Toby would appreciate you threatening to kill me and all.”

“Well Toby isn`t here,” Tim glanced at the only clock in the house, “his target`s not even in this province, we`ve got all day.”

Ah, fuck.

“Well I`m sure you`re a busy man,” you were slowly beginning to move towards the kitchen, that`s were all the knives were after all. Sure, it wouldn`t help you much, but you`d rather die fighting to be completely honest. Maybe you could stab him in the eye or something, buy yourself a running head-start. “You probably have places to be, things to do.”

“No, I don`t think so.”

That seemed to do it for you as you quickly bolted to the kitchen, throwing open a drawer and picking up a color coordinated knife. Tim was right behind you, and this was probably the first time you had ever seen him smile. He lunged at you and instinctively you ducked, whirling around and running for the main door. You never quite made it as he caught up to you, tackling you down onto the ground. You screamed, tightening your hand around the knife as you blindly stabbed in front of you. He caught the blade in his hand, his blood splattering all over the both of you. He gritted his teeth at the pain but it didn`t stop him from tearing the knife out of your hands before turning it on you, pressing the bloodied blade against your throat, letting it dig a bit into your skin.

Augh, great.

“You fought more than that bitch ever did,” he sounded way too enthusiastic about all this, “I think I get it now, all your fighting, kinda don`t wanna kill ya.” Wow, you weren`t sure what to say. “Think I`d rather just hurt you.” Never mind.

“Tim please…” ah fucking instincts, you couldn`t help the seductiveness that slipped into your voice. After all those attempts with Toby it just felt like second nature.

“Fuck, that just makes me want to hurt you more,” he straightened up, his weight keeping you down as he drew the knife down your neck and to your shoulder, drawing blood the entire time. It stung, and you couldn`t help the few stray tears that slipped down your face. You`d think by now you`d be so used to all the pain. “Where do I begin…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully gave you a lot to think about, hit me up with those theories and comments x3  
> Seeya next week~


	18. Confessions of a Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss Toby :P

There really was no way to win.

You try to cooperate, you get hurt. You try to fight back, you get hurt. You try to lay low and mind your own business, you inevitably get hurt. The pattern was far too clear and now the only question was how hurt you`d be getting this time? Would this be a tumble-down-the-stairs kind of incident, or more of a well-there-goes-my-pinky-finger-guess-I-didn’t-need-it-anyways. Maybe it would be more sexual in nature, but then against this was Tim and not Jeff. That`s a good thing, right? You were now weighing the pros and cons of sexual assault versus long-winded torture.

What you knew for sure though, was that you were on your own. No one was coming to save you, well not for a couple of hours. Could you survive a couple of hours with Tim? It wasn`t looking too good so far, especially considering the man had a knife to your throat. You had to get him talking, keep him occupied and distracted. But could you manage that for hours? No, probably not. But at least it would buy you some time.

“Why are you doing this?” you asked the first, basic question that came to mind. “What did I ever do to you?” Honestly though, what had you done him? You had smacked Jeff around with a lamp one too many times, hence his hatred was justifiable. You had chucked an axe at Toby, so even he was somehow entitled to his bursts of vengeance. But Tim? You hadn`t done anything to the guy. Why did he hate you so much?

“I hate your kind,” was his sharp response, bitter and sharp as he drew the knife down your throat, blood pooling beneath it. “Fucking garbage, weak and selfish.” He was speaking in rather general terms, but the way he said it, the way the very words seemed to shake- this man was very adamant about his feelings towards humanity.

You tried to think of a smart reply, but the only word that came out was, “Hypocrite.”

“What was that?” he hissed, the blade of the knife suddenly twisting, pressing into your jugular but not quite breaking the skin just yet.

“Your preying on those that can`t defend themselves,” you half-heartedly growled the words out, honestly tired of his bullshit. If you were going to die, then you weren`t going to do it groveling. “There`s nothing weaker than that.”

“I`m going to kill you.” Was his grim response.

“I`m not afraid of you,” was your snarky reply, though in truth you were terrified. He probably knew it too, the way he scoffed, the way his angry eyes seemed to see right into your soul.

“You shouldn`t lie,” it was his turn to growl an irritated, malicious growl. He sounded evil.

“Go to hell,” but you were too proud and angry to care right now, thrashing and squirming underneath him, trying to gain some form of leverage. He didn`t even give you a chance, backhanding you hard enough to make your jaw snap into the floor below, a few teeth definitely loosening. You felt a sudden ringing in your ears, your vision blurring for a second as you gasped at the almost familiar sensation of another concussion.

“Feisty little thing,” he grumbled, “This is pathetic, I feel like I`m all talk, here I am acting all monstrous, but what have I done to you? A few papercuts? A little smack? Someone like _you_ deserves better.” He moved away now, the weight of him suddenly disappearing from your stomach, allowing your lungs to finally refill with air. You were too dizzy to fight back as he dug a hand into your scalp, his fingers tightening around the hair as he dragged you onto your feet. “You deserve the worst,” he added in a lower, more ominous tone, pushing you forward.

You barely managed to catch your footing, the dizziness in your head subsiding as adrenaline began to take over. It didn`t matter though, you immediately felt the blade of the knife nipping at the small of your back, ebbing you on as you took a step forward, then another. He led you into the kitchen. You felt another sharp push and found yourself grabbing the dining table for balance, sucking in a quick breath before quickly turning to face him.

Why did he hate you so much?

Your hands tightened around the table, your knuckles whitening in anxiety. This was probably going to be the worst way to die. You tried to come up with a plan, watching dreadfully as Tim glanced left then right, as if assessing the room, as if making sure this was where he wanted to kill you. Finally, he turned back to you, the only light in the house was that of the living rooms, and the way it fed into the kitchen and illuminated the killers figure only made him more intimidating. He took a slow step forward and you froze, your instincts on their edge. Should you fight? Should you give up and pray for a quick death? Should you try to talk? Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

“I don`t und-

“Must`ve been good,” he cut you off quickly, his tall, rather threatening frame trapped you against the table. His eyes however were raking down your body in an uncomforting manner, the dress you wore suddenly felt too tight. The knife was suddenly at your thigh, and you mumbled a helpless “don`t” as it trailed up your leg, stopping at your most private part. All sense of fight and scheming died the moment you felt the coldness of the blade so close to such a sensitive area. The image of him tearing right into you right there was traumatizing and what made it worse was that he would actually do it. “The sex I mean,” he continued, and you remained deadly still as he pushed the blade up a bit further, the fabric of the dress too sheer to protect you. You could now feel the blade against your underwear. “Why else would he keep you?”

“We never…” you spoke slowly, whispering, as if afraid one wrong word would set him off, however you were unable to finish the sentence, your mind trailing off. Luckily you were able to breathe a sigh of relief when he moved the knife away, trailing it up your hip before his free hand dug into the flesh there, turning you around forcefully before his knife hand returned to your hair, pushing your head down into the table. You suddenly lost it, beginning to thrash again, screaming terrible things at him, insisting he let you go at once.

It didn`t matter though, he didn`t care. His hips kept you trapped against the table, pressing into you rather uncomfortably, but this was different, you had a feeling his intentions were not sexual. No, he hated you far too much for that. Instead you felt him grab your wrists, stretching your arms out on the table in front of your head. He forced one hand over the other, growling another obscene insult before you felt the blade of the knife tear through both your hands, going through the table in one swift movement.

You screamed a horrible, agonizing scream, the tears flowing down your eyes as you didn`t dare move, too afraid you`d make it worse. It hurt, it hurt so much and you didn`t understand why. You didn`t understand anything. Why was he doing this? Why did he have to torment you like this? Why couldn`t he just get it over with? You were trying to be good, you were trying so hard to be obedient, to survive. Why was this happening?

You sobbed heavily, crying out in pain, making the mistake of squirming too much only to realize your hands were stuck, and the more you moved, the more the blade dug into the sides of your flesh. So, you stayed still, crying, trying to wrap your head around it, trying to keep the pain at bay.

Was he chuckling? Oh God how you hated him. His body suddenly disappeared from behind you, and you heard movement, a drawer opened, utensils shifted, he returned a moment later. He was now behind you again, you could feel the malice in his eyes as he gazed down at you, his finger running along your back.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, aggressive as always, but there was a hint of relief in his tone, a hint of enjoyment.

You didn`t respond, trying to muffle your sobs against the table.

“Answer me,” he ordered, his hands wrapped around your shoulders, pushing them back and forth in a massage like rhythm. However, with each movement your hands were forced to move, the blade tearing an even larger hole.

“It hurts, st-stop, it hurts so much,” you were crying, you sounded pathetic, so much for fighting, so much for being strong.

He was silent for a moment, a short moment, before you heard him exhale heavily.

“I think…” his hand found its way to your face, tightening around your jaw and holding your head up at a sharp angle. You could see him hovering over you as he brought a new knife, one he no-doubt got from the kitchen drawers, to the underside of your face, a bit below your chin. “I`m tired of looking at such a pathetic face,” the blade began to dig into the skin there, you instinctively tried to move away but the pain in your hands forced you to stay still and bare it. But you couldn`t. You couldn`t bare it. You couldn`t bare him. This was unlike anything you had dealt with, your mind simply couldn`t keep up, the fear was driving you insane. You were never before so scared in your life.

“Why…?” you gasped the word out, your body trembling at this point.

“Why?” he repeated.

“Why do you hate me?” your voice was cracking, your mind was racing, you felt as if you would shut down at any second.

“I told you, I hate all-

“Why do you hate _me_?” you repeated, not buying his excuses. No, this hate was too specific, too targeted, too personal. He wasn`t evening some vendetta he had against humanity, he was evening some vendetta against you, and you wanted to know while you could still ask, while you could still speak.

He was uncomfortably silent.

“Tim…?” you groaned his name, your voice too weak, too scared at the moment.

He exhaled again, a little deeper this time.

“Don`t say my name like that,” he ordered before you felt him move away, the knife at your throat now gone. It was now your turn to exhale sharply, shakily, trying to regain the ability to breathe. “Just… die,” he sighed but didn`t make any move to make that idea a reality.

“Tell me,” you whispered after a moment, calming down a little, just a little though, he was far too unpredictable for your liking, “I deserve to know why I`m going to die.”

“You don`t deserve anything,” he snapped bitterly, and your calm disappeared, alertness replacing it as you buried your head into the table, too afraid to face him.

“What does it matter…” he sighed again after a moment, moving around the table until he was finally facing you. He looked insane, dark and disheveled in the most unsettling of ways. “You`re going to die tonight, we have lots of time, might as well play the game,” you weren`t sure if he was talking to you or himself. “I hate you because you`re his,” he concluded, letting the statement simply hang in the air.

You managed the courage to blink at him, trying to understand the cause of all this pain. He was jealous? Jealous that you were taking all of Toby’s time? Jealous of your relationship with his _friend_? Was that it?

“I never meant to take him from you…” you offered it as a sort of apology, not entirely sure what else you could say.

“Fucking idiot,” he grumbled before leaning across the table, closing the distance between you once again. You wanted to back away but the knife through your hands kept you at bay as his fingers tangled themselves in your hair for the third time. However, this time he pulled your face towards his own and for a moment you thought he was about to kiss you. He almost did too, stopping a mere inch before pulling away completely. “You`re his to play with, to fuck, to _kill_ ,” Tim explained, “You`re off-limits. That makes me want you all the more,” he was pacing now, circling around the table like a shark circling its prey. “Why can`t I play with his toy? Him and I are like _family_ after all.”

This was all becoming far too twisted for you to understand.

It was a game to him, he wanted what he couldn`t have and Toby just happened to make you the shiny new trophy. Tim didn`t like the restrictions, he was jealous of the new toy, he wanted to play with it too, he wanted to break it.

“The way he treats you though, like you`re something special.” Tim`s hand suddenly wrapped around the knife that was holding your own hands down. You were afraid he was going to twist it, afraid he was going to make it worse. “Are you something special?” he suddenly tightened his hand around the handle, pulling the knife out. You didn`t dare move your hands, the blood that was beginning to spread over the table was now dripping down the sides. “Why does he get the pretty fuck doll? Why am I the one that has to keep away? Fucking bullshit. You`re keeper isn`t here, he isn`t going to rescue you. Toys all mine tonight.”

His hands were at your waist and in a quick, rough motion you found your battered body pushed entirely onto the table. He was hovering over you like a predator about to make the killing blow. The knife was back in his hand, the blade thick with your blood.

 “Tim please…” you did it again, whispering his name in a weak, needy fashion. He seemed unfazed but there was that brief flicker of hesitation in his eyes. You used your hands to prop yourself up, fighting through the immense pain if only for a second. You leaned towards him, looking defeated, opening your mouth as if you wanted to say something. He didn`t stop you, giving you the chance to subtly line up your leg, gathering all your anger and frustration as you suddenly kicked him in the groin. He made an awful sound, stumbling back if only for a moment. But a moment was all you needed to desperately crawl off the table, running with the last doses of energy you could muster.

You spared one glance at him as you quickly unlocked the cabins door. He was still reeling in pain, his eyes catching yours for a brief second, murder written all over them.

“You fucking bitch!” he roared the words, “I`m going to-

You slammed the door closed as you exited into the snowy expanse beyond the cabin. The cold was the first thing to hit you, your awareness suddenly realizing the pain you were in. Still, you couldn`t stay here, you had to fight just a little longer. You began running, grateful he hadn`t hurt your legs. Unfortunately, you were leaving a trail of blood and footprints in the snow. That didn`t stop you from bolting into the woods, your speed surprising you as you pushed past foliage, barely avoiding trees as you dashed through the snowbanks. Something about life and death could really motivate a person.

The sky above you was darkening, a storm was brewing by the sound of it. You wouldn`t survive out here on your own, it was already cold enough as is. But you`d have to worry about that later because you suddenly became aware of the monster behind you. He was screaming all types of threats, and they were only getting closer. This was hopeless, you couldn`t run forever.

Just a little further though, you couldn`t give up yet. You just couldn`t.

So, you pushed on, your muscles screaming, your body losing blood every second. It was becoming too hopeless, you were beginning to slow down, you were beginning to stumble, you could hear his trudging closing in behind you. You were going to die.

It was at that moment that you slammed into a tree, the force knocking the wind out of you as you fell back into the snow, wheezing for air. It was all over. You laid there, panting, waiting for the attack to come. It never did though, the trudging had become silent. When you glanced up from the ground, you could see Tim in view, standing mere meters away. However, he wasn`t looking at you, his glare was instead fixed on something above you. You followed his eyes, now realizing the tree you crashed into wasn`t a tree at all. Instead you recognized the gray-tinted skin of a reserved doctor that had once treated you. You remembered his eyeless sockets, you remembered his jacket, you remembered him.

His head tilted down, his sockets resting on you before he took a step forward. Trapped between two monsters, what a way to go.

“You`re hurt,” he stated.

He wasn`t wrong.

“Why`re you here?” Tim suddenly intervened, beyond annoyed, also a little jumpy.

“Was coming to see Toby,” Jack was still looking down at you while he addressed Tim. “I intend on taking his cabin once he`s done working here.  Needed new hunting grounds. What did you do to his human Tim? She`s on the verge of dying.”

“Let me finish and you can have her organs,” Tim grumbled, but judging by the tone of his voice it seemed he knew that plan was no longer a possibility.

“I thought you were smarter than this,” Jack sounded very disapproving. “I thought Jeff was the only one stupid enough to try something like this.”

“Don`t fucking lecture me Jack.”

“Oh, shut up and start running,” Jacks monotone had become more of a growl now, a hint of animalistic impatience mixing into his voice. “He won`t be happy when he sees what you`ve done.”

“Fuck if I care,” Tim grumbled, and you distinctly heard him turn away, beginning to trudge through the snow. “If you want her that bad, then go ahead, she`ll be dead soon enough.” You heard the trudging again, its intensity slowly fading as the sound lightened and lightened before disappearing completely.

It was as if your body suddenly realized it was safe, your alertness, your adrenaline, your very consciousness slipping and fading. The tiredness took over, the dull ache of pain intensifying, threatening to knock you out. The last thing you saw was Jacks eyeless face peering down at you, his large, gray hands reaching towards you before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, i originally had this chapter ready for Friday. But after I did my final re-reading of it, I thought to myself "wow, this is some cutesy shit." And so I scrapped the entire chapter and rewrote it from scratch, hence what you just read now. Hopefully this version of Tim is better. RIP anyone who wanted Tim and reader to get together, cause that kind of died with the first draft.
> 
> Seeya next Friday ;D


	19. Emotional Disarray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like I haven`t written for Toby in sooooo long, felt pretty out of character but I`m sure I`ll get back into the swing of it soon enough.   
> Thanks for all the comments though, had a few too many laughs scrolling through that comments section xD   
> Poor Tim.

Jack was a rather interesting monster.

He was kind in a careful, silent way. He was also cruel in an animalistic, wild way. There was no evidence to suggest the latter, but you simply knew. Your body, your mind, your instincts, they were all telling you he was an animal, that he was evil beyond measure and you simply couldn`t see it because you were too blinded by the gentle way he wrapped the wounds on your hands. Your body told you it was only because if he wasn`t gentle, he`d break you with ease. That the only reason he hadn`t torn you apart was because he simply _liked_ Toby. Your body told you he was dangerous, that he could be worse than Tim, that you should do something about it.

But fuck your body.

It had done nothing but cause you pain and give you strange, mixed feelings. So, you sighed into the cold air, staying relaxed as the gray-skinned man finished his work.

“Here, eat,” he offered you a granola bar, one he had found in the cupboards of the kitchen. You took it willingly, leaning further into your chair as you unwrapped it. Your arm was resting on the table, the table that was still stained with your blood. However, it didn`t seem to affect your appetite as you ate with ease.

“Thanks,” you mumbled after a moment, suddenly remembering your manners.

He cracked a smile at that, shark-like teeth on display for a mere moment before his expression became neutral again.

“To be blunt, I`m surprised he hasn`t killed you yet,” Jack said after a moment, pulling up a chair and sitting across from you. “Is he good to you?”

You looked at the man unsurely, wondering why he cared so much. “He`s… okay,” was your response.

“Okay?” Jack chuckled a deep, rough chuckle. “You`re breathing. That`s a miracle. You must be clever, doing whatever it is you`re doing.”

You gulped. Was it a coincidence or did he know? Did he know about your manipulative games? Your lies? No, there was no way he could know.

“You`re playing a game, he likes it, so he`s playing along,” Jacks tone was rather ominous now. “But when he finds out you`re cheating… hmm, what then I wonder?”

He knew. But how?

“Well, if I`m playing a game…” yes you had lied to Toby, you had manipulated him, strung him along and seduced your way into this strange power dynamic. “I might have just played myself.” But no matter how much you hated it, you couldn`t deny a tiny part of you fell for the lies too, fell for him. It wasn`t love. It could _never_ be love. But there was an attraction, an admiration, a sense of respect. “But what makes you think I`m playing anything?”

“I`m not stupid,” he stated rather dryly, “I`ve seen the way you talk to him, the way you look at him, negotiating, pleading, manipulating. Oh, don`t worry, I won`t say a word, he wouldn`t believe me anyways. Interesting approach, it`s new.”

Twenty minutes later and you still weren`t sure what to think of that rather ominous conversation. Jack was now gone, leaving you to mull over your day alone. At first, you were scared, worried that Tim would return to finish the job. But after a while, you realized there was no point in such needless fear.

You would have spent the rest of the day stumbling around the cabin and feeling sorry for yourself if it wasn`t for the ringing of the doorbell. Toby? Jack again? Maybe it was Tim?

But then again, you wouldn`t expect any of them to ring the doorbell. So, you began to move towards the door before your eyes caught the opened body bag still laying in front of it. You grimaced, suddenly realizing its awful scent. Despite how disgusting it was, you found yourself bending down and grabbing the bag by its sides, struggling to not tear it as you pulled it into the kitchen. Once out of sight, you returned to the door just as the bell was rung again.

You opened the door just a crack, recognizing the tall, warmly-dressed man on the other side, his gun in his hand as he looked at you. “You alright Miss?” Joseph asked, his voice was layered with concern. Without his erratic wife, the man looked rather intimidating and you found your grip tightening on the doorknob, ready to close it any second. You weren`t sure you could take another attack, neither physically or mentally.

“Can I help you?” your voice sounded as weak and timid as you felt.

“I was huntin` when I saw all the blood in the woods,” he explained, thick eyebrows furrowing in worry, “Came to check on ya. You sure you doin` okay?” You remembered running through the woods, you remembered the mess you no-doubt left. Something about a somewhat stranger taking the time out of his day to help another human being was heart-warming and you found yourself opening the door a little wider.

“Here, come in and warm up?” you began to say, your mind now wandering onto other things, important things that you felt you needed to tell him. This poor man cared about your safety, and you now felt obligated to protect him too. “Let me get you a drink of water?”

“Would be nice,” he smiled warmly, his rigid, stiff body relaxing immediately as he entered the warm cabin. You closed the door, glancing to the kitchen to make sure the body was out of sight. As promised, you got him a glass of water, and as he took his drink you began to organize your appeal.

“I don`t know how to say this,” you were trying to be as honest as you could without spilling the actual truth. However, as you looked at this kind man you could only picture Jack sinking his teeth into him. These people were in danger here, not just in the house, but in the region as a whole. “but we`re going to be selling the cabin.”

“What?!” he didn`t even let you finish your explanation, his aged features sharpening in surprise.  “But Daniel? He grew up here!”

“Yes, but it`s been decided,” you tried to sound convincing. “The point is, the person moving in, I didn`t pick him or anything but… he has a bit of a record. All I`m saying is he`s dangerous. It would be best if you guys don`t come here anymore, stay out of the area too. Maybe just maybe consider moving…?”

Joseph looked at you with concerned, narrow eyes, his grip noticeably tightening on his rifle.

“Are you threatening me hun?” he asked, and before you could reply, he continued, his tone a little louder. “Things seemed fishy from the start but hey, I ain`t one to point fingers. Strange people movin` into our tight knit circle all of a sudden? Jus` ain`t natural. I think I need to talk to Dan and Nora myself. Things are getting` too weird `ere.”

“W-wait!” you made an attempt to grab his sleeve just as he marched by you, heading into the kitchen.

“I`m jus` gonna call them,” he explained, “I need to hear this from them.”

“The landline doesn`t work!” you said quickly, knowing he intended on using the landline stationed in the kitchen. It wasn`t a lie though, the phone truly did not work, you would know, after all, you had tried it once when Toby was indisposed.

It was too late though, he had already walked into the kitchen, and the silence that followed solidified your fears. How stupid was it to let him in? How stupid was it to try to save another life? When Joseph walked back into the living room, he had his gun raised, pointed at you.

“What did you do to her?!” he was yelling, his eyes held a certain disbelief to them as if he couldn`t believe a girl who seemed so innocent could be responsible for such horrors.

You didn`t know what to say. It was all too late now, it was your fault too. It would have been better to stay out of the man's business, to not interfere in his life. But such a sweet, kind-hearted man at the mercy of a cannibal? You had to help him. Knowing him, he`d visit the cabin again once Jack took over, and then both him and Annie would be dead.

“Listen…” there was only one thing you could do now, “please, keep quiet and listen to me. I didn`t kill her. I`ve been kidnapped, I`m being held captive by that man you met before. Nora and Daniel are dead. He killed them. He isn`t their nephew. There`s more than just him though. They`re going to kill you too if you don`t stay away from this place. You need to stay away.”

That felt surprisingly good, the ability to share the whole-hearted truth with another human being. Joseph studied you for a good while. A wholesome man with warm, friendly eyes, thick laugh-lines and whitening stubble. He lowered his gun and stared a while longer, as if trying to understand, failing to understand.

“What do you mean?” his tone was confused, impatient.

“They`re insane,” you sounded as if you were pleading, “please just go.”

A small silence consumed the room for a moment, the only sounds being the gruff mans breathing.

“Annie`s gonna kill me if I leave ya here,” he finally said before grabbing your hand, holding it tightly, reassuringly. “We`ll keep you safe until the police arrive.” You realized little too late that you had made things far worse. But still, something about such a warm, human hand around your own was comforting, and you found yourself silently being dragged to the door.

The moment he opened it was the moment reality came crashing down.

Toby stood at the other end, his duffel bag hoisted over his shoulder as he tilted his head. He looked as if he had been standing there for a while, listening to the conversation that took place. You felt an odd sensation of dread deep in your stomach, it was a strange pain, unlike anything you had felt before. A sense of panic accompanied it, stress began to seep into your skin, alarm bells ringing. You felt like a bad pet, like your owner had just caught you in a wrong act, like you were in far too much trouble to even comprehend.

In an instant Joseph had his gun up, the massive rifle faced Toby`s unreadable glare.

“Don`t move!” Joseph ordered.

Toby clearly heard the threat, and in response, he took a step forward as if daring the man to react. Joseph did, firing a shot into the murderer`s leg. When that didn`t stop him, he aimed higher and fired another into his waist. The killer stumbled for only a second before wrapping his fist around the gun, pulling it out of the man's hand before kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying back into the cabin. He paid you no mind as he walked by you, entering the house and placing one boot on Josephs' stomach. The muzzle of the gun was forced into Josephs' mouth and the older man stared at Toby with a mix of shock and confusion.

That was your moment to act and you found yourself tugging at Toby’s sleeve.

“Wait, wait, don`t kill him!” you knew it was hopeless, but you simply had to try.

He pulled the trigger but only a sharp clicking was heard. The gun was out of rounds. Joseph and you both seemed to sigh in relief. Relief that didn`t last long as Toby pulled the gun out only to push it back into Josephs' mouth with unbelievable force. You heard the sickening noise of wet flesh tearing and twisting as the metal gun went through the back of his mouth, nailing him to the wooden floor below. Blood splattered everywhere as the older man twitched wildly, gurgling cries and screams spewing more blood. It lasted for an entire minute and you couldn`t bare to look, a nauseating feeling took over and you felt the intense need to throw up right then.

It was only when the noises stopped, when he was finally dead that you managed to breathe.

Toby tossed his duffel bag inside before closing the door, walking right past you in an aloof manner. You heard the kitchen sink in the background before he returned. It took a moment before you could look at him, not realizing you were kneeling on the ground rather pathetically until you saw him looking down at you. His hands, which were now clean, reached up to lower his blood-sprayed face mask. Cold, unfeeling eyes addressed the emotional disarray in your own.

“What happened to your hands?” was the first thing he asked.

You looked at him for a moment and felt a chaotic array of emotions. Angry, scared, safe, sick.

“Tim…” you mumbled.

“Who w-wrapped them?” was the second thing he asked, still surprisingly calm.

“Jack,” was your response.

“And this man… wh-what`s your explanation?” he looked down at his handiwork.

“I was trying to help him,” so much for that though.

“And now h-he`s d-dead,” Toby stated rather bluntly, “when his wife comes looking, she`ll be dead too. What`s it like?” he raised an eyebrow, his tone a little mocking now. “To kill somebody?”

“I… I didn`t kill anyone,” you said quickly, now getting onto your feet, unable to even look in Josephs general direction.

“Didn`t you?” he scoffed rather bitterly.

“I didn`t kill him!” you insisted, a little angry now. How dare he. How dare he kill somebody and try to blame you for it.

“He`d be alive if it weren`t for you,” Toby said the last part like a fact and that seemed to do it. You had somehow developed strange, twisted feelings for this man, but now you could see it clearly. No matter how sweet he got, he`d always be a monster inside. Josephs gushing corpse was evidence enough. You felt angry, angry at him, angry at yourself, angry enough to lunge at the killer. He saw it coming, easily grabbing your wrists as you tried to punch him. You kicked at him, aiming for the bullet hole in his leg. Nothing seemed to work, instead, you found yourself pulled onto the couch, forced under him and restrained.

It felt so wrong to be near him, so disgustingly, horribly wrong. Mere inches away was the still-bleeding body of an innocent stranger. You twisted your head to the side to avoid him, all the while clawing and punching. You couldn`t bare another second in the company of such a savage. How many more people did he need to kill before you realized what a monster he was? How could you have ever caught feelings? To think you had even done _those_ type of things for a psychopath like him. It made you feel sick to your stomach.

“I hate you,” you grounded out the bitter words. You wanted to hate him, but you knew at the moment you didn`t. But if you said it enough times, then surely it would become reality. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” It got louder and louder with each phrase, and soon you were screaming it.

“Don`t say that,” his tone was quieter than yours, calmer and colder as he finally stopped fighting you, hovering a few inches above your shaken body.

“Why are we doing this?!” your tone was louder, emotional, on-edge and angrier. “What`s the point? When does it end? I`m either going to die as your bitch or I`m going to die running. There`s no escaping, no freedom, no happy ending. I can`t take it, it`s hopeless.”

“Weren`t you happy?” his once cold tone now seemed to grow heated, tenser. “What haven`t I given you?” he sat up now, putting some much-needed distance between the both of you. “You`re not s-starving. You`re warm. You`re healthy. You get to lounge around a luxury cabin and watch fucking TV to your heart's desire. Wh-what prison am I keeping you in? W-where are the chains? The metal bars? Yes, I hurt you, but it could have been a lot worse. I could have hurt you a _lot_ worse. And you still haven`t learned…”

“You`re deluded!” you shoved him away and he let you, glaring as you got onto your feet and paced away from the body, away from him. “This is a prison. I can`t leave. I`m stuck with a remorseless murderer who thinks he`s doing nothing wrong. How can I ever be happy with you? I _hate_ you.” You were sick of this game, this was the fourth person he had murdered in front of you. Maybe fifth? Sixth? The fact that you couldn`t keep track was disturbing enough.

“Fine,” he stood up immediately, his tone a border-line growl. “You want a monster? I`ll give you a monster.”

This would usually be when you begin regretting your decisions, but at this point, you were truly too emotional. You felt strangely brave as you stared down the killer that marched up to you. What`s the worse he could do? Torture you? Been there, done that. Kill you? Well, at least that way it`ll all be over.

He stopped a centimeter away, holding you by the shoulder as he leaned in. You expected some sort of violent reaction but instead, you felt his cold breath against your skin as he said one simple phrase, “you`re on your own.” And with that, he suddenly picked up his duffel bag and headed on upstairs.

You stared ahead for a few moments.

You were on your own? What did that mean? He was going to leave you alone? You were free to go? A subtle smile began to form on your face. Was that it? Was it all over? This was a lot easier than you ever expected it to be. You glanced down at the fountain of blood still gushing out of Josephs torn throat, you whispered a silent apology before tearing your eyes away and scrambling towards the door. You fished out the largest jacket in the nearby closet, one that no-doubt belonged to the previous owner. It was warm and fuzzy, and you soon felt a strange sense of comfort as you opened the cabins door.

Freedom.

And then it hit you.

It had all happened so quick, you were unable to think it through, unable to realize what you were doing. You took a few hesitant steps back inside, staring at the snowy expanse ahead. There were other monsters that wanted to kill you. Tim, Jeff, even that clown guy. If Toby was done with you, then even Jack would probably turn on you. The only reason you were still alive was because Toby stood in their way. If you stepped out of this door, you`d be free game. Jeff was already hunting you and dying at his hands would be far worse. For all you know Tim was still in the area too, waiting for another chance to pounce. And Jack? He surely couldn`t be too far, after all, he had only left moments ago. If you ran into him again, then there`d be nothing stopping him from turning you into another meal.

You closed the door of the cabin, glaring at the ground. This was incredibly unfair, incredibly chaotic. How much more of this could you possibly take? Everyone has a breaking point and realizing just how hopeless your situation was only brought you closer to that breaking point. Your coat slipped to the ground as you took slow, antagonizing steps towards the staircase.

There was no way to win. The loss would only be worse without him.

You felt pathetic as you made your way into the upstairs bedroom. His duffel bag was tossed against a wall, and you could hear the shower running from within the closed bathroom. So, you stumbled towards the bed, hoisting yourself up and sitting there, staring ahead at the floor. You hated this, but what choice did you have? You`d have to apologize probably. Maybe even beg and plead for forgiveness. But what happens when he kills the next person? What happens when he murders poor, unfortunate Annie? Do you harden your heart, let survival instincts take over and act as if you`re okay with it?

He had spent all day hunting down and killing people, but that didn`t seem to bother you. After all, you hadn`t seen those people die. However, you had seen Joseph die. Maybe that was the secret. As long as you never saw it happen, you could string along all sorts of fictional fantasies. Ignorance is bliss.

You curled up closer to the bed's headboard, rubbing your calloused fingers against the grayish bandages that criss-crossed your once soft hands. Would there ever be a day when you could look back at all these injuries and take comfort in the fact that it was all behind you? You were beginning to doubt it. Your hands absentmindedly tugged the end of your dress over your knees, brushing along the scar on your thigh. Hopefully, your hands would heal just like your leg had.  But was this what the future held? A constant cycle of injuries healing only to be replaced with fresh wounds, rinse, repeat.

You muddled through your bleak thoughts for at least ten more minutes before the washroom door opened. He was already dressed, as if he knew you were outside waiting for him. The material of his sweatpants was darkened though, a familiar red colour bleeding through and dripping down his foot. Even the fabric of his shirt was wet with blood around his waist. He held something in his hand and ignored you as he placed it down on the nightstand. Two reddened bits of metal clinked down on the wooden nightstand. He turned to leave.

“Toby wait,” you forced the words out, your emotional disarray reaching its crescendo. For some reason, you felt like crying. It was too stressful, too hopeless, too difficult, and you knew you couldn`t deal with this new reality alone.

On the bright side, he hadn`t completely shut down on you, instead, he listened as he came to a pause by the edge of the bed.

“I`m sorry,” you explained. “I`m scared, and I feel sick and it`s all so stressful. I`m not used to this, to all this killing. I know I should be by now, but I`m just not. It`s all too much and… and I know I won`t survive a second without you. So, please, don`t let me go.” You hated every second of this, having to negotiate and plead with such a monster.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then he moved closer, coming to stand at your bedside as you sat up.

“You`re r-right,” he spoke quietly, sounding strangely weak. Was it the blood loss? Or perhaps something else altogether. “Either you die, or you change.”

There was another option as well.

“Or you can change,” you mumbled, remembering that dream you once had.

“I guess so,” his tone was a tad bit humorous now. “Someone has to.”

He was right, either you become more like him, or he becomes more like you. And if worse comes to worse, you die, and he moves on. Those were your options. But there was something else too. A different, more daring scheme. He could die, and you could move on. If only you could kill him instead, then all of this would be over. Well no, you`d have to find a way to kill the rest of them too, and that was unfortunately very unrealistic. But wait, what if they all thought you were dead? Was faking your own death an option too? Because that seemed like a pretty good option. What if you-

“Do you r-re-really h-hate me?” he cut off your plotting with a question, his hands resting on either side of you as he leaned in. He looked paler than usual and you once again blamed it on the blood loss.

“I…” you sighed, inhaling a sharp breath before managing a soft, compassionate smile, placing the back of your bandaged hand against his jaw in a caressing manner. “Of course not,” you lied, at least you think you were lying. Were you lying? Did you hate him? It was all so complicated. It was simply wrong to feel anything but hate for a monster like him, and so you mentally told yourself that you did indeed hate him. You _had_ to hate him. “I was just scared and emotional.” He was leaning into your touch, like an animal that craved the affection. It was strange, how easily he forgave you, how easily his anger subsided into whatever this was.

“If things were different…” he wrapped his own hand around yours, lowering it to the bed in a gentle manner. His cold eyes dropped from your gaze to glance at the bandages, assessing the damage the encompassed. “Hmm, what did he do?” he lost track of his first question, clearly distracted by your wrapped hands.

Even thinking about the whole Tim ordeal was too stressful, and you found yourself uncomfortably pulling your hand away. Toby seemed to notice your reaction, archiving it in his mind for later use.

“Of course, y-you s-survived it,” his hand was now on your neck, cold and wet as his fingers trailed up, holding you steady. “Such a fighter.”

His lips were equally cold as they brushed against yours, your body involuntarily shivered against him as he pressed up against you. You could feel the wet warmth of his bloodied clothes bleeding into you, but you didn`t seem to mind it. Your fingers instinctively tightened around the material of his shirt, holding him at a safe distance.

You found yourself being pushed back onto the bed, the bed's headboard pressing against your shoulders as the kiss deepened. It was strange how the emotional chaos that was once driving you crazy now seemed to melt away under his touch.

“This is d-di-difficult for me to admit,” he broke away from the kiss, his cold fingers softly pressing into your sides, holding you down under him with ease. “But I d-don`t see the harm in it,” he began trailing his hands up your waist, dragging the material of your dress up. Slowly your legs began to grow more exposed, the material leaving your thighs, and rising up your waist. “Wh-what`s the worst that could happen?”

“Toby?” you said his name quietly, curiously.

“I…” he trailed off, smiling and shaking his head. “I can`t say it. Ah, perfect.”

“What`re you doing?” it was your turn to ask that breathless question, not stopping him even as your dress was pulled off over your head, tossed aside. You vaguely remembered the two corpses downstairs, a picture of Annie's horrified face coming to mind before all those thoughts faded away.

“I`ll be good if you be good,” he stated, his hand moving to pull his own shirt away. A once powerful body was coated in a layer of blood that dribbled down his wounded waist. If he was in pain, he did a good job of not showing it. “Th-that`s fair, r-right?” He leaned down into another kiss, soft, simple, subtle. “Here, I`ll try to be honest. Just this once. I care about- well, that`s a gi-gi-given. I mean I like… Ah, it`s very new, unhealthy too probably,” another scoff. “Here goes. I…” he trailed off again, looking down at you apologetically.

But you seemed to understand, and a part of you was horrified at the very thought of hearing such a phrase. The last thing you needed was for him to confess some misplaced feelings. So you quickly nodded your understanding and he smiled at that. There was no way you could ever feel the same, it was wrong, it was so, so wrong. But you could pretend at least. Yeah, that`s what you`d do. Pretend you felt the same, pretend you cared about him too.

The worst part though was that you knew deep down you weren`t pretending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long awaited 'seal-the-deal' sex scene incoming.  
> Toby-fucking-Tim-up is also eventually incoming?  
> I`m sorry if it was a very chaotic chapter, wanted to get a lot of things done in a short span of time. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for it.  
> Seeya next week~


	20. The Cons of Having a Conscience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see, here are my excuses:  
> 1\. I`ve been working on some original stuff, like most writers on these sites, I one day dream of having an original work published.  
> 2\. My interest in writing sex has been dead these past weeks for some reason. Maybe I "grew" up? Maybe I`ve become a prude? I`m not entirely sure. But for some strange reason it was difficult to write this. But by the middle of it I was back into my groove so there`s that.
> 
> FYI, this is all just sex :P
> 
> Have fun.

By now, the conflicting emotions that seemed to haunt you were all too familiar.

A part of you was eager, anticipating, and ecstatic. It was the part of you that you could feel, the part that made your insides heat up, your legs tremble. Then, there was the other part, the vocal one, the one that made your head rattle, the one that shamed and scolded you.

_He`s a murderer_ , it would say, _monster, killer, psychopath_.

But no good ever came from listening to that voice, especially not now, especially when everything was so fragile. You needed Toby, you needed the monster, the killer, the psychopath.

For now, at least.

So, for now, you`d have to silence the vocal part and let the eager part take over.

His hands were cold against your bare waist, his fingers digging into your skin as he pulled you closer to him, to the point where you could feel that familiar hardness between your legs. His blood was dripping down his waist in a steady rhythm, staining your stomach with red. A normal person would be somewhat disgusted, but you were far too used to it. The sight of blood, the smell, the feeling of it against your skin.

 You lifted your head to kiss him, bandaged hands wrapping around his shoulders as if you needed the support.

_Monster,_ the voice echoed in your head again.

You closed your eyes tightly, trying to drown out the voice with other thoughts. Thoughts of sex, of how satisfying it would be, how it could be fun- yes fun, nothing but fun. Just pretend it`s someone else, anyone else. A few celebrities ran through your mind, idle crushes, anyone to take the edge off. He pulled away, pushing you back down into the bed. The coldness behind those brown eyes were unmistakeably Toby and no amount of effort could convince you otherwise.

“Feeling a little hazy,” he whispered, his voice was a little deeper than usual, a little more on edge. “M-must be losing t-too much blood.”

He looked away for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face before those eyes returned to you, darker than before.

“So, you hate me?” he quirked an eyebrow, almost smiling as he held you down with ease, his hands ghosting down your naked sides, rubbing soft circles into your waist. “M-mu-murdering p-psychopath I am, who can b-blame you?”

“Toby I-

His grip tightened around your waist again, this time a little too painfully, forcing a rather pathetic squeal out of your lips.

“They keep insisting I kill you and be done with it,” he mumbled, his right hand had wrapped around the inside your thigh, tugging you even closer to his hips. The material of his sweatpants was pressing hard against the space between your legs, hot and wet, sending a strange, aching sensation through your stomach. “But just l-look a-at you,” he was slowly grinding, the aching increasing as you whimpered incoherently. “Too perfect,” he concluded, leaning down into another meaningless kiss.

Your legs were splayed around him, the material of his sweatpants replaced with the cold touch of his hands. You squirmed a little, uncomfortable, uncertain.

_Murderer,_ the voice echoed again. Reminding you that the cool, ghost-like touch was that of a murderer`s. Still, you did nothing as a cold finger forced its way into you. It had been a while since anything had been down there, and so the pain shouldn`t have been so surprising. A dull ache that faded with each gentle movement, his mouth silencing the little gasps and whimpers that escaped your throat.

_A killer has his finger in you and here you are rutting against it like you enjoy it._ The voice scolded again, harsher this time, sounding almost disgusted.

You felt the shame, but you also felt the nice, electrifying, pleasure. It left you feeling equally hazy, your legs spreading further as he managed another finger into you, chuckling deeply, sexily against your lips.

“Far too perfect,” he growled, sitting up so he could watch the way you squirmed under his hand. Trembling legs, labored breeding, the erratic way your chest rose and fell. You mumbled his name, feeling his fingers curl up inside you, painfully perfect. He leaned back down, lips connecting with your neck, biting down gently, lovingly. He seemed to be entranced with your body, completely in love with it. His mouth ghosted down your stomach to where his hand was. One lick from that malicious tongue was more than enough to send you reeling, shaking around his fingers, making a terribly embarrassing, wet mess.

His hand pulled away, allowing you to final close your legs and pull them towards your chest, you were shaking, still recovering. “This p-pr-prison isn`t so bad, i-is it?” he asked, sounding surprisingly tired. You struggled to sit up, holding your legs close as you dug your hands into the sheets for leverage. He looked dazed, his dark eyes were a little misty as he held his head, exhaling softly. Your eyes wandered to the wound at his waist, a strange sad, loving feeling taking over as you crawled towards him, a little too seductively, but after all, he was asking for it.

His attention snapped to you, the focus returning as you got up on your knees, a soft hand pressing against his toned chest. He melted into your touch, visibly relaxing as you traced the muscles that made up his abdomen. You weren`t sure why, but you placed a hand against the bullet-wound, watching the way he shifted uncomfortably.

“Toby…” you sighed his name.

You pulled your hand away, covered in his dark red blood.

_The blood of a psychopath_ , the voice assured you. _Dig your fingers right in, hurt him, he deserves it. He`s probably killed hundreds._

“You should lie down,” you mumbled, your tone was also a little shaky, a little breathless, the dull, pleasurable ache between your legs was probably to blame. “Let me-

“No,” he replied, his tone surprisingly sharp, impatient almost as he made a move to grab you. For some reason, you found yourself ducking his grasp, wriggling off the bed and onto your feet. He turned to you expectantly, sitting with one leg hanging off the mattress.

“You`re bleeding out,” you insisted, standing there with your hands on your hips, your expression a mix of concern and lust. The latter was completely his fault. But he just looked so good, from tousled, dark, bed-hair to the strong, slender muscles that made up a rather sexy physique. Your legs were trembling for him, all too aware of how good he could make you feel.

_You`re lusting for a killer!_ The voice scolded.

“I`m not going anywhere,” you found yourself saying, smiling softly at him as the concern seeped into your voice again. “I`ll still be here once you feel better.”

He rolled his eyes, a rather dark, sexy smile lighting up his tired features.

“That`s real cute,” he got to his feet, walking right up to you. Your heartbeat increased just a tad, excited, expectant as he pushed you into the nearest wall, another kiss, another smile. “Unfortunately, f-for y-you, I`m perfectly f-fine,” his hands found yours, holding them tightly as he led them to the drawstrings that held his sweatpants in place. You found yourself biting your lip, feeling conflicted once again, eager and nervous as your body took control, your hands began to undo the strings. Your fingers hooked around the hem of the sweats, pulling them down rather tantalizingly.

Your eyes took notice of the bullet-hole in his leg, staining his pants and dripping blood down to the wooden floorboards. He was standing on this leg, walking on it too. He immediately pulled you back onto your feet, putting at you eye-level again. He gave you another thoughtful glance, another frown. “Don`t l-look at me like that,” he whispered, irritated, “Y-you ca-care a lot for someone who supposedly _hates_ me.”

Oh, he`s still on that.

“I was just angry,” you found yourself a little flustered, struggling for words. “I didn`t mean it.”

He gave you a questioning look, another subtle smile before his arms wrapped around your waist, lifting you up against the wall. Instinctively, your legs wrapped around his hips for leverage, your fingers holding onto his shoulders for support. You absentmindedly found yourself acknowledging his strength, how easily he could move you, control you, break you.

“It was rather hurtful,” he mumbled, his voice amused, as if he was playing with you.

“Well I`m very sorry,” you whispered, holding him a little too tightly, afraid he`d let you fall.

“Sorry?” he repeated it, his tone mocking as he put a little space between the two of you, spreading your legs around his waist until you could feel that hardness again. Your heart began to race, nails digging into his shoulders. You looked up at him expectantly, your cheeks burning red, your lower lip trapped between your teeth. He was grinding against you teasingly, biding his time as if he wasn`t bleeding out onto the floor. Finally, he pushed into you, making little work of your body's natural resistance, forcing a rather mindless moan out of your lips. He was obviously much bigger than the fingers he had in you moments ago, and you found yourself struggling to cope, burying your head against his neck, breathing in that all too familiar scent of smoke and sandalwood.

Fireplace, you thought to yourself, smiling at the notion.

“Hmm,” his fingers softly stroked your thighs, his hips moving slowly, experimentally, as if getting used to the idea of fucking you. It felt strangely right, a hot, aching inferno settled into your stomach, making you shake and cry with his every movement. And then, without any warning, he came to an abrupt stop. “Are you really sorry?” Was he still on this?!

“Toby…” you found yourself moaning his name, apologetic, wanting.

You were trembling against him again, you couldn`t remember the last time you had been stretched so perfectly, filled so perfectly, fucked so perfectly. Your body had a mind of its own as it ground against him, chasing the friction that just felt too damn good, electric, hot, wild. He sighed before his grip tightened around your thighs, pushing you back against the wall, holding you still.

“It feels like a few minutes ago you were calling me insane.” He teased, and you caught on. “That really _hurt_ my feelings you know.”

“Toby, please...”

He made it worse, moving ever so slowly before hitting a certain perfect spot that sent you spiraling, trembling as a jolt of pleasure ran up your spine, nails digging into his back, waiting for more. He stopped right there; holding himself against that perfect, sensitive spot. This was a new side of Toby, a playful, less-serious side that could really drive a girl insane.

“Please?” he faked an innocent expression, “ _Now, whatever do you mean by that_?”

“You really are a sadist.”

A deep laugh escaped his lips as he gave another slow but forceful thrust; ramming himself back into that spot. An expected moan shook your body before you whimpered against him, irritated, needy, trembling.

_A monster has his cock buried in you and here you are playing games with him? Practically dripping wet?_ The voice was angrier this time, sending a pang of guilt through your trembling body. _Think of all the people he`s killed! How could you do this?_

“Hey,” he leaned closer, his lips brushing against your ears, the deep, dark rumble of his voice drowning out your conscience. “ _I love you._ ”

It took a moment for your mind to process what he had said.

He did it, he said it.

You opened your mouth to say something, anything, but once again his lips were against yours, tender and soft as his hips picked up their pace. Every movement he made was deep and powerful, hitting all the right places. He was rather good at this, no doubt he had done it a few times before. Keeping you on edge, controlling his pace as the slow torture continued. But this torture was different, better even. And the best part was, under all the sensual fucking, he loved you. Or was that the worst part?

Your head was beginning to hurt. Or was that your body? A little bit of both?

He was giving in now, his movements were harsher, violent as lust became evident in his eyes. Your body could only take so much before reaching that perfect high. He got there before you though, groaning into your neck, as his grip tightened, holding onto you like his life depended on it. Your fingers ran through his hair, crying out his name as he came off his well-deserved high. You kissed him frantically, desperately, so used to the feeling of his lips against yours, so used to the feeling of his tongue in your mouth. And for a few seconds, everything was perfect, the conflicting emotions were nowhere to be found, a blissful state replacing it.

What you weren`t ready for though was feeling his hands slip away, sending you falling hard onto the floor.

“Ah, sorry,” his tone tired once again as he peered down at you, offering you his hand. You took it, struggling onto your feet before acknowledging the now painful aching between your rather weak legs. “Blood loss,” he mumbled again, before sweeping you off your feet, dropping you on the bed. He lingered for a moment, opening his mouth to say something before gritting his teeth, his hand pressing itself tightly against his waist.

“Toby,” you sighed his name for what felt like the hundredth time. “What can I do to help?”

He looked at you for a quiet moment.

“B-be h-here when I g-get back,” he suggested, before straightening up. With his hand digging into his side, he made his way rather smoothly to the door.

Your legs weakly fell flat onto the bed, your breathing easing down to more regular levels as you blinked at the ceiling. Your body was missing him already. You wanted to turn and bury yourself against him, fall asleep next to him, but instead, you fell to your side, sighing against the pillow as your eyes closed.

_He loves you,_ the voice whispered. _The monster loves you, and you… you did all that… How does it feel? To fuck a murderer? A killer? Josephs corpse isn`t even cold and here you are, all warm and tingly after fucking his murderer._

You wanted an excuse, you wanted to be able to say you had no choice, that your life depended on it. But deep down, you knew that wasn`t true. Everything you did, you did of your free will. And ashamed as you were, you`d do it all again. Your heart ached, your body ached, your head ached. Here it comes again. All those thoughts, that damn conscience again.

_You came all over his cock, the evidence is right there between your legs._ The voice hissed, embarrassing you as you tried to bury your head deeper into the pillow. _What will you tell the police? What will you tell your mother? Your friends? What will you tell Annie when she finds her husband? What will you tell her when Toby kills her?_

You had no answers, hating the guilt that began to eat at you again. So, you tried to ignore it, letting the tiredness of your limbs take over as you gripped tightly at the sheets, clenching your eyes closed. You`d figure it all out, was what you told yourself, nobody else would have to die, you`d find a way, there was no question about it. But for now, you`d fall asleep. Yeah, that sounded good. Figure it all out later, rest for now.

You sighed, both mentally and physically exhausted as your body relaxed against the mattress, your mind finally drifting off. He was probably downstairs right now, trying to deal with the gaping holes in his torso and leg. Poor guy, maybe you should go help him? Yeah, sure, you`ll definitely do that, once you can move your legs again that is. Defeated, but rather content, you gave up the internal monologue, letting sleep take over.

_He loved you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely updating next Friday, starting chapter 21 now.  
> As always, comment your thoughts :D  
> I love you guys, especially those of you that wouldn`t leave me alone until I updated. <3
> 
> Seeya next week~


	21. The Most Important Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late update is late, but better late than never.

One unbalanced, uneven step after the other, you made it down the polished staircase. Dressed snugly in one of the few shirts and pants Nora used to own, you made your way into the lounge area. The bodies were gone, not a drop of blood to be found. That`s a good thing right? Feeling slightly queasy, you helped yourself to the kitchen, stale peanut butter sandwich, each bite a hassle to keep down. You finished off with a glass of water, sated at the very least, but still uneasy.

Was Toby out? It sounded like an awful idea considering what bad shape he was in last you saw him. Then again, he had moved these bodies. Perhaps you were underestimating him? After all, he was an un-killable, supernatural being, and all that jazz. He was also a murderer. You had just… with a murderer…

You felt sick again, the peanut butter rising to your throat before you coughed harshly, trying to calm down. It was okay, everything was okay.

“Hey,” Toby ever so casually came walking in through the front door, dressed in a navy blue long-sleeve shirt and jeans. He had snow in his hair and he easily brushed it off before walking right past you and towards the couch. You now noticed the duffel bag that was laying there, left untouched since last night. He picked it up, hoisting it over his shoulder with ease before walking back out through the door.

A little fazed and a little curious, you began to walk towards the door. Peering outside you saw a truck, sleek and black. A new, bitterly cold gust of wind slammed into you and you quickly stepped back into the house.

“Put on a jacket,” he was back through the door now, reaching for the nearby closet, leaving it open for you.

“Are we going somewhere?” you asked, grabbing the nearest coat from the closet. It was bright green and frilly, no doubt one of Nora`s. Even though she was now dead, you felt as if you knew her very well. You pulled on the coat, trying not to think of the poor woman.

Toby turned to you then, his hands tightened around the inside of the coat as he tugged you towards him, your hips against his as he smiled down at you. What now? Was this going to become a regular thing? Were you okay with that? Geez, what did it matter, it`s not like the sexual tension didn`t exist before. It`s not like you hadn`t done other regrettable things with him.

“W-wo-would y-you like to go somewhere?” he asked rather playfully, his grip had loosened, his fingers moving towards the edge of the coat, wrapping around the buttons as he did them up one by one.

“Well that`s one way to avoid my question,” you grumbled.

“I`m extremely serious,” he finished up the last button. “C-China? N-New Z-Zealand? Italy?”

“What`s going on?” was your unamused response.

He made a face, a rather disappointed one, before pulling away. The Cabins light was suddenly flicked off before he moved towards the door, gesturing for you to follow. There really was nothing else you could do, so you obliged him and followed. Was it weird? Trying to act casual considering just how un-casual you two were last night? Sex did lead to awkwardness, but you decided to simply not think about it, trying to match your steps to his.

It was still cold outside, but the coat did help a little if at all. He propped open the trucks passenger door before walking around to the driver`s seat. So, a road-trip was at hand. But why? What had happened? Had your time finally run out? Was his job in Canada done? Was he going to kill you now?

You instinctively tugged your seatbelt over your chest, he, obviously, did not. The truck pulled away from the cabin before turning onto a dirt road.

“Where are we going?” you asked again, your tone had noticeably sunken.

“N-not sure,” he admitted, before his cold eyes narrow for a second, glancing towards you. “Grab me the bottle from the compartment.”

Bottle? Oh boy.

Your fingers hooked around the little compartment that sat above your legs, pulling it down to reveal, lo and behold, a beer bottle. Really? Even while driving? The man was a complete alcoholic. When you made no move to hand it to him, he leaned over and grabbed it out of the compartment, taking both hands off the wheel to pop the cap and take a sip. He then continued driving with one hand.

“Relax,” he said after a moment. “I know what I`m doing.”

“Why did we leave?” you asked almost immediately.

He said nothing, any hints of a smile had now all but disappeared, replaced with a stern frown. His cold eyes were now trained on the road as he turned a corner. The surrounding forest was becoming thinner by the second, the dirt road solidifying into something more concrete. Another sip from the bottle, another unanswered question.

But you really should be used to this by now.

Fine, you`ll do it his way then.

“How are you?” you softened your voice, almost sighing the words out. “Last night… you were bleeding out.”

No answer, however, his frown softened a little.

Hesitantly, you reached out towards him, placing a warm hand on his cold waist. He made no indication of discomfort, then again why would he? You had already crossed every line with him. You gently lifted the material of his shirt, just enough to see no bandages, but no blood either. A wound that was so fresh hours ago now looked years old, a noticeable scar its only indicator.

Goddamn supernatural healing.

“So…” you pulled your hand away, clasping them both in your lap. “Does this mean you`re done hunting here? Does this mean you`re going to kill me?”

“I`m not going to kill you,” he stated plainly, eyes still on the road.

You waited for something more, anything more, but it seemed he had lost interest in conversating. Fine, whatever. You gazed out the frostbitten window, placing your hands over the heater, loving the feeling of the warm air fanning against your bandaged skin. The truck was cozy if anything, unassuming and cozy, you wondered how he got it, who he had to kill to get it. Or hey, maybe he just bought the truck, no need to point fingers.

“That`s it then?” Toby suddenly spoke, his tone was mellow, border-line disappointed.

“Does the vagueness ever stop with you?” you scoffed, but at least he was talking.

“A-a-are w-we just going t-to ignore last night?” he tipped his bottle to his lips almost immediately after, as if his life depended on it.

“Enough with the alcoholism.” You weren`t sure what possessed you, maybe you were just feeling extra brave, but you yanked the bottle away, shutting it back into the compartment.

“You didn’t even close the bottle…”

Oh, whoops.

“Doesn`t matter,” you waved your hand dismissingly, and a ghost of a smile graced his lips if only for a second.

“So…?” both of his hands were on the wheel now, another smooth turn and you found yourself on the main road. The lampposts were lit on this road, even though the sun was beginning to come up. The sky was a light blue, grayish and icy, a bitter winters morning. Or was it still Autumn? You had lost track a while ago.

Anyways, last night. He wanted to talk about last night. So, it seems you couldn`t just avoid everything that happened. Not that you wanted to. Or did you? Ah, you felt conflicted. You had sex. But it wasn`t that _simple._ There was more, wasn`t there? There was that little confession at the end, you had seen it coming, sure, but still, it wasn`t exactly helping your moral state.

_He loved you._

“What do you want me to say?” you spoke the words in a rather defeated manner, your eyes falling to your lap in embarrassment.

He gave no answer, but you didn`t really expect him to.

What could you say? That you love him too? But that would be a lie, right? You couldn`t possibly love him, right? No, you couldn`t, it was wrong, it was so wrong. But then again when did that ever stop you? Having sex with a murderous psychopath is pretty wrong, but here you are.

“What if I get pregnant?” you asked all of a sudden, purposely trying to change the topic, but also because you just realized that could be a real concern. You waited for him to tell you that was impossible, to tell you that some supernatural power at work would make that impossible.

Instead, he shrugged thoughtfully. “Would that be so bad?”

Um, yes? Fine, fine, two can play this game.

“Are you gonna give up your life as a serial killer and settle down with me then?” you asked teasingly, jokingly, sarcastically.

“Would you want me to?”

The humor drained from your face. He was being completely serious, wasn`t he? You clenched uncomfortably at your stomach. You were just messing around with him, you were pretty sure there was no chance you were pregnant, the odds were far too low. But the fact that a part of him was actually willing to give it all up startled you. There was no way he actually ever could, right? He was some supernatural monster, he had that boss and all, a line of duty to stay obedient too.

Your fingers dug even tighter into your stomach now.

But what if it was just that simple? Imagine all the people that you could save by taking him off the streets. You remembered that dream you had. Could that ever be a reality? Could you ever just put all this horror and trauma behind and start something new? Start something with _him_? The monster that tried to kill you on multiple occasions? The monster that actually had succeeded in killing others on multiple occasions?

Man, the Stockholm syndrome must be getting to you.

“Real funny,” you muttered, trying to play it off like a bad joke, trying to act aloof.

“I guess it`s too l-late f-f-for that,” another turn, another meter or so and you were now on a rather busy road. It felt strange, being surrounded by all these people, unable to cry for help, unable to find the will to do so. No, they couldn`t help you. No one could.

“Did you want a family?” you asked, turning your attention back to him now.

He didn`t answer.

“Do you think…” and just like that, the scheming began again, your mind was too prone to it. “The boss-guy? The other monsters? Whatever the hell this system is. Would they ever let you go?”

He continued to glare at the road ahead of him.

“Would you want them to?” you asked on.

“Jeff was in town,” Toby said all of a sudden, not exactly what you expected, but you found yourself listening intently regardless. “We`re le-le-leaving be-because of him. I don`t know where we`re going, just somewhere else. And yes, m-m-my hu-hunting job is done.”

“I thought you could take Jeff,” you didn`t mean it as an insult, but simply a question.

“Of course I can,” he answered a little too quickly. Maybe you hurt his pride. “But it`s not _me_ he`s coming after. Look, Tim g-go-got t-to you, Jeff will too.”

You opened your mouth to say something, anything, but he beat you to it.

“Th-this is very unpractical,” he gritted the words out, his expression stayed neutral but you noticed the way his knuckles whitened against the steering wheel. “I have a job to do, I wo-won`t be there all the ti-time. Sooner or later, they`ll get you, and you`ll die. I can not protect you forever… You will die… Are you okay with that?”

Did he really just ask that?

You understood though, that there was nothing he could do, that it was only a matter of time. It wasn`t even his fault really. Claire`s fault, the Boss`s fault, Jeff`s fault, your fault. So that was it, here you were worried about getting your normal life back when in reality there would be no life at all for you in the end. But maybe that wasn`t the worst thing in the world. Everyone dies, and this life was becoming more chaotic than it was worth.

But no, you knew it now more than ever.

You _have_ to survive.

“Let`s run away,” you said with sudden urgency, your hands wrapping around his sleeve, holding it tightly, pleadingly. He glanced at you from the corner of his eye, a little confused but still rather focused on the road. “You love me. You said it yourself. So please, just leave it all behind. You`ve done some horrendous things but it`s okay, I can find it in myself to forgive you, I know I can. Just… stop. Stop the killing, stop working for the fucking monster squad. Let`s run away to the furthest corner of this world, somewhere they`ll never find us. We can settle down! Be together, start something new, and they never have to know!”

Despite your rather frantic, hysterical pleading, he remained perfectly calm, coming to a stop at a red light. You were in a town now, neighborhood complexes surrounding you, little gray and black cars as far as the eye can see.

“I can`t,” was his grim answer.

He actually seemed to regret it too, a sympathetic frown on his face as his fingers loosened around the wheel.

“Of course you can,” you insisted, moving closer to him, holding even tighter onto his arm. “Jeff`s going to catch up, and just like you said, you won`t always be around. He`ll kill me and you`ll move on. Back to the killing that you say you don`t even enjoy. Back to the same routine, forever and ever, until it`s all over. Or, you can trust me, you can help me, and we could have everything. A nice little house in a country corner of, oh I don`t know, France? Columbia? Anywhere. Anywhere at all. Just you and me, and maybe… even a little more. And you can finally stop all the killing. You don`t have to be a monster, Toby. The world assigned you the role, whoever your boss is assigned you the role, but you don`t have to play it anymore.”

The stoplight had switched to green, but the car remained still despite the blaring horns behind it. The methodical look in his cold brown eyes was all too familiar, you remembered it from when Claire had shown up at the mansion. When your life was over when the monsters had begun arguing about who would kill you. You remembered asking him to spare your life, and you remembered that same look in his eye when he had said no.

“Toby, I love you!” you blurted the words out, and the daunting look in his eyes disappeared just like that. Did you love him? Was it just another lie? You weren`t really sure.

“You said it yourself, one of us has to change,” your hand wrapped tightly around his, a pleading smile forming on your face. This was it, the moment that would decide it all. “So please, will you change for me?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what he will say :^)


	22. Whatever Happens Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`m not proud of this chapter, was a real rough transition, so it`s mostly filler...  
> Important note at end though so there`s that...

“Why the long face doll?”

You tried to hide the discomfort on your face as you forced a polite smile and sunk back into the ratty couch. The man was sitting beside you in a second, his arm hovering around your shoulders.

“Oh, I`m not, um,” how do you put this politely? “For... sale?”

He made a face, slightly confused before he laughed it off, “that`s cute, tell you what, I`ll play along.”

You shifted away from his reach, your gaze wandering to where Toby stood by the reception desk. He was looking back at you, well aware of the stranger`s advances but making no move to help you. Instead, he turned his attention back to the man at the desk, continuing whatever negotiating they were doing.

What a jerk.

If anyone should be angry, it should be you.

“Hey, don`t ya go judging me!” the man was still talking, “I know I ain`t dressed like much, but I can afford it. Trust me, I wouldn`t lie to ya. How much we talkin`? Hundred? Two? Three?”

“I`m not trying to insult you or anything,” you assured him. “I`m just really not a… I`m not a…”

“A hooker? There`s no shame in it.”

You decided right then to get to your feet, moving away from the man and towards the reception desk. Other than the desk, there were ratty couches and cushions all surrounding a single, box-shaped television. The brown paint was peeling from the walls and a rustic looking bar stood from across the receptionist desk. The motel was seedy and sketchy in every sense, shape, and form. It was on the outskirts of the city and in no way your first choice. But it wasn`t your choice, it wasn`t Toby`s either.

The television headlines read ‘Midnight Slasher at large’. A blonde news anchor was talking but the television`s volume was turned down. It didn`t matter though, you already knew what was happening. Toby had stopped the car when the two of you noticed the police checkpoint up ahead. It turned out Jeff, or as he`s known to the Canadian public, the ‘Midnight Slasher’ had murdered three people in the past hour. Hence the police were crawling around everywhere.

Toby was going to risk the checkpoint but then he noticed the feds. You had spent a good ten minutes in the car while he debated the checkpoint.

And now, here you were.

The man at the desk finally handed Toby a key, not even sparing you a glance before turning to his next customers. The motel was rather crowded actually, mostly by couples, women in tight shorts and low-cut tank-tops, men with money dripping off their tongues. Despite your anger, you stuck close to Toby as he pressed the elevators button. You could see it on his face, he didn`t want to be here either. But this was the closest motel for miles, besides, it wasn`t safe for Toby to stay on the streets with all those cops around.

You had considered all the ways you could get the polices attention, all the ways you could get Toby caught. But you were too smart for that now, it never worked out, it never would.

And now here you were, in room 307 with a serial killer pacing about. It was well-furnished, the centerpiece being the decent queen-sized bed that you now sat on. Sitting across from the bed was another television set, one that Toby turned on before dropping down beside you. You immediately turned your face away, pretty sure he had rolled his eyes before focusing on the television screen.

“Federal agents have just arrived on the scene,” the anchorwoman was talking. “Canadians are asked to fully co-operate with American law enforcement. The Midnight Slasher, AKA Jeffery Woods has been on the F.B.I`s most wanted list for the past five years. If spotted, do not approach, call authorities immediately. The suspect was last spotted in Everglade Woods, residents are recommended to-

“We`re an hour ahead of him,” Toby muttered, turning the television off before tossing the remote God-knows-where.

“Just prolonging the inevitable,” you grumbled, the bitterness seeping through your voice. “You said it yourself, I`m going to die anyways.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in irritation.

“Not like you care,” you added, wondering if your words had any impact.

“What do y-you want? An a-ap-apology?”

No, that wasn`t what you wanted at all.

Not entirely sure what had possessed you, you found your hands wrapping around his, cold and calloused. You drew them to your neck, holding them there against your throat.

“If you`re going to sentence me to death, you might as well do it yourself,” you grounded the words out, noting the unimpressed nature of his glare as he pulled his hands away.

“Fine, play the coward,” you were quite angry as you berated him a little more. “At least tell me what happens next. When the feds clear out, where are we going?”

“I… h-ha-have… absolutely no idea,” he admitted.

Yeah, you figured as much.

It was unsettling, this bleak state of not knowing what comes next. There was a certain clarity that came with knowing what happens next. A certain clarity when you pictured a tomorrow, when you pictures the next ten minutes. But now everything was up in the air, would you even make it to the next day?

The uncertainty you felt was reflected in those brown eyes. You wanted to hate him, you wanted to stay angry forever, to blame him for everything that had happened. But you couldn’t.

“It`s cold,” you felt horribly cheesy and stupid as you dropped the line, making matters more ironic as you unbuttoned your jacket. The green coat was dropped off the side of the bed, leaving you in a casual shirt and pair of jeans. “Come here?” you suggested innocently, and he rolled his eyes yet again, a hint of a smile gracing his features before he obliged you.

You weren`t sure if you loved him.

But you were scared, scared of what came next, scared of all the things that could go wrong. You needed the support, a reminder that you weren`t as alone as you felt. He sat up on his knees, unzipping his jacket before tossing it aside too. He fitted well into those long-sleeve shirts, heck, he fitted well into everything. One of the perks of being humanity’s apex predator, one hell of a physique.

It really was a shame, a shame that he was a murdering psychopath, a shame that you could never really be with him. He really would make a fantastic father, intelligent and patient. Would the children be unkillable too? Was that a genetic thing?

Would they be cold too? Your palms pressed against Toby`s chest, hard and toned, not exactly comfortable. He laid beside you, arm wrapped around your hips as your curled up against him. Safe. He was safe, as long as he was close, as long as he was beside you, you had nothing to fear. But that was just it, wasn`t it? He wouldn`t always be beside you. He`d leave, and you`d die. Simple as that.

“You smell awful,” he mumbled after a moment.

“I`m not showering in a seedy motel,” you retorted, burying your face in his shirt, not wanting to show any trace of embarrassment. He somehow managed to smell the same as always. Would your children smell like him too? Would they have those heartless brown eyes? That pretty, dark hair, always tousled and messy? Would they be as tall as him? As strong? As smart?

“W-wh-when I w-was a kid, I was afr-fraid of baths,” he explained. “Th-thought a shark would slip through the faucet.”

“A shark?” you scoffed. “Out of a 5cm faucet?”

“Yeah, so I started showering,” he tilted his head towards you, smiling faintly. “Cold sh-sho-showers on-only. I thought if I made it too hot, lava would pour through.”

Well, now you knew your kids would be idiots.

“My point is,” he turned his head up towards the ceiling now. “If y-you-you`re afraid to shower, I could join you.”

“You`re such a boy,” you scoffed.

“I prefer man.”

Yeah, he really was. A boy, a man, human, simply human. Behind those murderous eyes, under that cold, killers skin, he really was another guy. But he already made his choice. A life as a heartless serial killer, surrounded by unfeeling monsters all to serve one overrated master. Somehow, he preferred that to spending every night like this, curled up like a stereotypical couple.

Maybe just maybe, you weren`t angry because you`re life was slipping out of your fingers, but instead because he chose them over you. So much for love. Not that you ever fell in love. Not that you cared about his feelings towards you. No, you didn`t love him, you didn`t care if he loved you. Absolutely not. Absolutely never.

“I`m sorry,” he insisted, craning his neck just to kiss you.

Cold lips against your soft ones, slow and gentle, as if he had all the time in the world to kiss you. You returned the kiss, your tired fingers easing into his hair, pulling him in slightly.

It lasted only a few seconds before he was on top of you, holding you down with his weight alone as he arched up to take off his shirt. He returned to your lips a moment later, always eager for a good make-out session. The fear and anxiety you had felt the first time was nowhere to be found now. Instead, there was that familiar, electric excitement, as if your body knew what came next and simply couldn`t wait. It wanted his touch, craved it.

Your legs pathetically opened up for him, your thighs hooking around his hips, grinding against him, chasing that delicious friction. He smirked down at you, letting you hold control for a moment as he absentmindedly trailed his fingers down your side, tracing all sorts of shapes into your skin. Well, this was a motel made for sex, so might as well.

-

You awoke slowly, blinking into existence as you just laid there with your head lolled back and your arms splayed over a blanket. It was still dark out, and you were pretty certain you had been asleep for an hour or two at most. There was a pleasant but embarrassing soreness in your legs that you decided not to think about. You sat up now, holding the blanket around yourself as you glanced about the empty motel room.

The lights were turned off, your clothes were neatly folded on the nightstand and Toby was obviously nowhere to be found. You rolled your eyes and dismissed it at first but then a certain, deep, dreadful sense of fear sank into your stomach.

Toby wasn`t with you.

You were in danger now, he wouldn`t be here to protect you.

You had to find him.

In a blur, you reached for your pants, tugging them on roughly followed by your shirt. You checked the bathroom first just in case, but when he definitely wasn`t in the room, you dared a glance into the hallway. The room's key was gone and so you assumed he must have left. Maybe he was downstairs in the lobby? But why? Was he picking up a hooker? Getting drunk off the bar?

You stood there for a second, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet as you considered your options. Was it safer to stay in this room, or should you go find Toby? After all, Jeff was only an hour away, and that was two hours ago. What were the chances of that lunatic staying at this motel though? Hopefully very low.

You debated for a second longer before grabbing your jacket and heading down the hallway. A short elevator ride later, standing in the motel's lobby, you understood why Toby had left. Two federal agents were flashing their badge to the man at the desk, asking about a couple matching your description. Weren`t they supposed to be looking for Jeff? Why the hell were they asking about you and Toby?

The moment one of the agents, a middle-aged man, glanced towards you was the moment you dove towards the bar. Trying to act casual you ordered a drink. From the corner of your eye, you could see the agent eyeing you before quietly following his partner to the elevator. He stared at you until the elevator doors closed, allowing you to sigh out a breath of relief.

The bartender suddenly placed a glass of water in front of you. Really? You ordered a water? Way to act casual. Frowning, you took a sip before glancing behind your shoulder again. Shouldn`t you be helping the authorities? Maybe these agents could actually protect you. No, they couldn`t, no one could. The monsters would find you and they`d kill you, it was as simple as that.

You took another sip of water, drowning down your stress. The agents could be on their way to room 307, you couldn`t return there. You didn`t want to leave though, Jeff was out there, probably closer than ever before. You got to your feet now, remembering the car, wondering if maybe Toby would be hiding out there. Well, it was worth a try. Moving past irritated drunks, you managed to get out of the motel and into the open air.

With a single lamp as your only source of light, you began circling around the motel towards the parking lot. Through the decorative trees and bushes, you could see the main road, covered in cars, going on for miles and miles. Your eyes fell to the asphalt beneath your feet, one step after the other as you made it to the lot, taking note of the rows and rows of cars.

The innocent looking black truck was where you had left it, empty by the looks of it. Great, there goes that lead. You stood there for a moment, acknowledging the bitter cold against your skin as you tried to figure out what to do next. How ironic. After all this time trying to escape and get away from the monsters, here you were trying to find your way back to them.

You didn`t have the car keys, and it was only getting colder by the second, your only option would be to return to the motel. You turned away, beginning the disappointing walk back to the sketchy little building.

“Hold it right there!”

Your heart froze, your breath hitching in your throat as a million possibilities ran through your head. What if it was Jeff? You wanted to run, to scream, but instead, you swallowed hard and slowly turned around. Standing across the parking lot was the agent from the lobby.

“It`s alright ma`am, I mean you no harm,” he added, walking towards you. He wore a brown trench coat, looking like your typical detective with the exception of soft eyes and a warm smile. “Just wanna talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> Anyways, I figured out the ending of this story xD!  
> Chapter 25 will most likely be the last chapter, and if for some reason it isn`t, then just know this story will not exceed 30 chapters. But for now, 25 is the goal.   
> Is that good news or bad news? Who knows.


	23. Playing the Mouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`m on vacation... still. Europe and the Middle East. Looking good so far.   
> Anyways, I`ve got a reliable form of Wifi for a bit so I wrote this quickly. It`s not too long, will try to stretch out the next two chapters, promise the last one will be a long one, and a good one.

“So… I`m bait?” you asked for what felt like the fifteenth time.

“Okay, fine, yes, you`re bait, happy now?” the other agent, the older one with the thinning moustache and frustrated attitude responded. His name was Patel if you remembered correctly.

“But nothing bad is going to happen to you,” the friendlier one, the one that had picked you off the parking lot and brought you back to the motel room spoke next. His name was definitely Clyde.

“I`ve heard that before,” you scoffed. You were beginning to become quite a stereotype, all reserved and bitter. What happened to the law-abiding citizen that would happily cooperate with the police? “So… when, I mean, if… if one of those killers walks in through that door then…?”

“Then I fry their ass,” Agent Patel grunted, patting what you assumed was a taser hooked to his belt.

“Don`t worry, we`ve been thoroughly briefed,” Clyde added reassuringly. “We know bullets are useless, but trust me, you can knock `em out just fine.”

“And when, I mean, if… it doesn`t work, and whoever walks through that door kills you, then what do you recommend I do?” you asked rather casually, trying to hide your complete lack of faith in law enforcement.

“Run probably,” Clyde answered, a clear frown visible on his face. “We`ve already set a perimeter, there are other agents outside, just get to them.”

You tried to act convinced and reassured, but you had been in this situation far too many times as it was, and it always ended the same. The police, detectives, agents, whatever- they would always end up bloody puddles on the ground. And you would have to stand there, screaming and crying, watching it happen every goddamn time. By now you should be used to it. By now you _were_ used to it.

Patel made an irritated face, his hands tugging at his phone which was visibly vibrating. He looked at the screen for a solid ten seconds, the entire time Clyde stared with a strange mix of anticipation and coolness. Patel stowed his phone away, nodding to the two of you. The agents suddenly dove into the washroom, closing the door quietly, Clyde paused to give a brief smile before disappearing behind the oak.

Go time.

You took a deep breath, then another, and another, until you forgot how to naturally breathe, having to force each inhale and exhale. It was awkward, awkward and stressful. Your fingers skimmed the bedsheets, one foot after the other, pacing about the floors. The mattress was cold now, no trace of what had conspired only hours ago. Memories, they were all full of Toby now. He was your sense of strength now, sense of calm, security, and everything else. And now he was nowhere to be found.

He was right though, dying was inevitable, he could never stay forever, people have lives of their own too, responsibilities and the likes. A shame that this responsibility, in particular, involved murdering people across the globe, but he was a slave to it nonetheless. You had a life once, responsibilities, a thing that kept you moving, a dream of sorts. Where did it go? Where did that world disappear to?

Footsteps, heavy and loud, announcing their presence to the entire world, fearless and eager.

They came to a halt, right in front of the door.

You waited for it to tear open, to break from its hinges and go flying off the wall. Instead, it opened slowly, the knob clicking into place before the door was steadily pushed inwards.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Toby came into the room, his hand gripping the doorframe like his life depended on it. A gash the size of a football was torn into the fabric of his jeans, right along his lower hips, almost severing his left leg entirely. If he was in pain, he made no indication other than his struggling to move.

“What happened?!” you stammered, rushing to his side, making a feeble attempt to help him stand. He only pushed you aside, his eyes hard and angry. He looked about ready to murder someone.

“Wh-what do you th-think?” he snapped, beyond irritated. “Jeff`s here,” he added on a quieter note, almost apologetic. “Ca-ca-caught me by surprise. Look, I need you to-

It was at that moment that the bathroom door was kicked open.

Tasers sound very different from bullets, they were loud and explosive too, but they went on longer, the sounds were sharper, reaching high peaks that would make a bystander cringe. Toby hit the floor before he could say a word, his leg making an awful squishy sound that almost made you gag.

“What the fuck Patel?” Clyde sneered at his partner, the one that held the taser gun in the air, smoke emanating from its handle. “That wasn`t the target!”

“Do you know who this is?” Patel snapped back with equal attitude. “He`s no Jeffery Woods, but this guy is up there in the list too. Tobias Erin Rogers. Don`t they brief you on anything anymore?”

Clyde`s look of shock turned to one of gratitude as if Patel had just saved his life, which in some accounts may just be true.

You stood there, rather still, simply watching the man you cared about lie there, bleeding out and on the verge of death. Then again, they don`t die. So, there was nothing to worry about. However, this may as well be the last time you see him. These feds might just lock him up forever. What do you do in a moment like this? What do you say?

Good bye?

I love you?

I`m sorry?

Have fun in maximum security?

An explosion, much louder than the tasers broke your train of thought.

“Patel!”

In a brief second, another bullet found its way into Clyde`s leg, sending him crippling down and coughing blood along with his partner, who had now curled up into the fetal position around his injury. The ghostly white figure of Jeffery Woods stood in the open doorway. His hoodie was already smeared with blood, gashes the size of an ax lined his forearm and cheek. However, unlike Toby, he seemed more excited than angry.

“Don`t move,” Jeff ordered dismissively, moving right past you to crouch over Clyde. “Cute trap fucker.”

Clyde raised his taser, but Jeff only pressed his gun into the man's hand, blowing it clean off his wrist. With the detective screaming in the background, Jeff threw the gun aside, reaching into his pockets to retrieve his more favorable knife. “Remind me to thank Jessie for her gun.”

“You fucking touch her and I`ll-

“Can`t protect what`s already dead,” Jeff snickered.

It was at that moment that you gathered your wits, remembering what was at stake and what you had to do. Quietly, you moved backward, taking small, slow steps until you had reached the doorframe. It would be easy to run, and Jeff knew that. In fact, you were certain he wanted you to run. He wanted to make things fun.

Back to playing the mouse, fucking great.

The motel's hallway looked like something out of a haunted house. The lights flickered, most of the bulbs were already gone. Bodies littered the floor, guests, and staff laying there with their guts spilled for the world to see. The atmosphere was thick with the smell of death and gore. But you were used to it.

Training your eyes on the exit, you found your way to the elevator, clicking the button rapidly only to find it unresponsive. Fucking wonderful. Backtracking, you searched for the stairwell. Instead, you found a new smell in the air.

Smoke.

You stopped in the hall, turning to find a room widely open, a woman in a sheer nightgown lay on the floor, her face hidden behind her hair. She didn`t move, blood pooled among her stomach, reflecting the flames that surrounded her. There were around three candles sitting on her nightstand, but two had been knocked over. The flames had consumed her bedsheets, another layer began licking along her back, slowly but surely consuming the room.

You had to get out of here quickly.

Turning away from the room, you found yourself face to face with what could accurately be called your worst nightmare.

Jeff stood there with that crazed look in his eye, a lazy smile stretched along his grotesque, recently slashed features. His knife was coated with fresh blood, but he made a show of wiping it off his hoodie, polishing it clean especially for you.

“You run far,” he chuckled.

“You chase far,” you mirrored.

“Seems the bitch betrayed her master yet again,” he gestured towards the room you had left Toby in.

It was an accident. You had been expecting Jeff, not Toby.

How exactly does one escape this exactly?

“This is fucking great, isn`t it?” Jeff stepped forward, and you reluctantly stepped backward, the heat from the flames was now searing your back. “Just you and me. Where do I even being? What should I take? A hand? A leg? Maybe the entire head? Ah, we`ll get there. No rush.”

His hand tightened along your neck, a stone-like grip squeezing tightly along the delicate, little air passages that dictated the lines between life and death. Oh, and it hurt. Worse than the physical pain was the fear, the instinctive panic of being suffocated that worsened everything tenfold. He held you against the wall, the flames from the room now licked at your feet which dangled too close to the doorway.

“All bruised and battered, look at those little hands,” he took your bandaged, four-fingered hand into his own. The gesture was sickeningly affectionate at first, his index finger rubbed tenderly at the bruised skin there. Then his grip closed around it, fingers tightening impossibly hard until it felt as if your knuckles were about to pop. A muffled, choked whining escaped your lips, the lazy smile on his face only stretched.

He dropped you right then, letting you slam hard onto the floor, your fingers recoiling at the impact. Somehow you had the strength to put pressure on your hand as you tried to helplessly crawl away. It worked for a little while, a small, deranged laugh escaped him as he followed along, his footsteps in tangent with your crawling.

“Fucking adorable.”

His foot suddenly planted itself into the small of your back, holding you down on the cold, tiled floors.

“I`ve decided,” he stated thoughtfully, crouching down over your hips. “I`m taking the legs.” The cold tip of his knife tore easily through the fabric of your shirt, coming to rest at your lower back. “Beg, only chance you get before I make you _my_ bitch.”

It was hard, degrading and hard, but you`d be lying if you said you didn`t want your legs.

“Please… let me go,” you whimpered.

“Horrible attempt,” his knife suddenly jammed itself through your back, the blade registering in the bones of your spine. You cried out terribly, writhing and convulsing at pain that was better off not described.

“Please, please, God I`m sorry, stop it, stop, please!” the words were lost in your screaming as he tore the knife down your back, clicking along the bones of your spine. Your head was on the verge of exploding from all the screaming and pain. You felt about ready to throw up too. “Stop it! Stop! Jeff please!”

“Can you still feel your legs?” his fingers dug through your skin, pushing past your flesh to press at a sensitive bit of bone and muscle. “Answer me whore.”

“No!” you lied, “I can`t feel them, please, no more…”

He whirled you around so you were on your recently torn open back. Another muffled cry escaped your lips, but he seemed to drink it up happily.

“Feel this?” he asked, his fingers digging into your thigh.

You shook your head quickly, your face a mess of tears and sweat.

“Really now?” his voice was quieter now, deeper too. He held your leg up, pushing it into your stomach at an impossible angle. He stopped before you reached a breaking point, releasing you. He moved away for a slight second, reaching into the back of his jeans to pull out a cellphone.

“Borrowed this from Jessie,” he mumbled, tapping away for a moment before holding it up over you. “Lose the shirt,” he ordered. “Should be easy for you.”

You blinked at him for a moment, and he only looked at you expectantly.

When you made no move to follow his order, he pulled back before punching you across the face, sending your jaw clacking against the floor. Your eyes rolled back in your head, your mind swimming with numbing pain. You barely registered the feeling of his knife against your skin as he tore the shirt off.

“Want you to look nice for Toby,” he scoffed before holding up the phone and taking two or three pictures. He kicked you around like a dog, turning you this way and that way before snapping another few shots. He pushed the device back into his pocket then. “He`ll appreciate the memories. Now then, where were we?”

“Kill me,” you sobbed the words out, surprised at how weak you were being in your last moments. “Do it, I want it to be over. There`s no escaping this.”

“Now,” he leaned down so his face was an inch from yours. “Where`s the fun in that doll?”

“First,” he said as he held your face in his hand, his bloodied thumb coming to draw a line along your cheek, wiping away the tears and replacing them with red smears. “I get a little taste.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost finished. Exciting, isn`t it? I hope you`re all ready for the ending, it`s interesting to say the least.
> 
> On a side note, I was thinking about giving Claire a short story (4-5 chapters). A small little Jeff x Claire for what conspired in their week together. So a prequel I guess. Meh, just a thought.


End file.
